BUS599 assignment 3

 Marketing Plan & Sales Strategy 

Teresa Bailey

BUS599 - Strategic Management

Dr. Derrick Ross

08/12/2018

1. Define your company’s target market.

The target market for Grapefruit Refresher is young and active adults between the ages of 15 years old and 45 years old, who have a median income level. With regards to educational attainment, the target market will comprise of persons with at least a high school educational level. This target market encompasses a more significant percentage in Piscataway, New Jersey. The United States Census report of 2010 indicates that there were more than 56,044 people living in Piscataway with the figure estimated to hit 57,432 persons by 2016. The number of White Americans and African American were expected to hit 21,499 persons and 11,610 persons respectively between 2012 and 2016. During the same period, the number of American Indians and Alaska Native, as well as Asians, was expected to hit 74 and 21,266 persons respectively. The median age was 31.6 years and, the number of people with high school educational attainment and above was 92.5 percent between 2012 and 2016. The median household income and the number of persons living below poverty were estimated to stand at 89,244 United States dollars and 7.0 percent respectively from 2012 to 2016 (Fact Finder, 2018).

2. Assess your company’s market competition.

The non-alcoholic beverages market is very competitive and relatively saturated. However, with the right differentiation as well as marketing strategy a business can control a sizeable market share. There are many direct competitors with established brands as well as customer base like Jamba Juice, Smoothie Factory alongside Ono Bowls. The secondary competitors comprise of energy drinks such as Monster Energy drinks, 5 Hour Energy Shots as well as Red Bull and non-energy drinks including Smart Water, Vitamin Water plus Gatorade. These brands compete for the consumer as Grapefruit Honey Refresher.

With this in mind, Grapefruit Honey Refresher will adopt the frontal attack marketing strategy to compete against the industry leaders. According to Yannopoulos (2011), the frontal attack marketing strategy is the offensive targeting of the industry leaders head-on with the aim of attracting and persuading their customers. To do so, Grapefruit Honey Refresher will highlight the significant difference between its products and the competitors’ offerings, especially the low-calorie levels as well as honey taste compared to the other options. Jamba Juice, Smoothie Factory as well as Ono Bowl’s products have high sugar contents. The other secondary competitors like Monster Energy drinks, 5 Hour Energy Shots as well as Red Bull have high sugar contents and have strong tastes. Grapefruit Honey Refresher market campaign strategy would provide the target market with an alternative refreshing and energy drinks that do not only have honey but also have low calorie. The company would be the lighter option compared to its major rivals.

3. Clarify your company’s message using the information provided on the worksheet in the text (p. 160 | The Five F’s).

A company can use the Five F’s- Function, Finances, Freedom, Feelings, and Future to clarify its marketing and branding strategies (Abrams, (2014). Grapefruits will use the Five F’s as follows to refine its marketing and branding strategies.

· Function: The firm will meet its customers’ needs by providing them with refreshing drinks that are not natural in taste but also low in calories to enable them to achieve their goals like getting the extra energy for the day to day task or get a much-needed boost after a daylong work.

· Finances: The Company’s products will be pocket-friendly as well as competitive compared to the other smoothie and energy drinks. They will enhance a person’s performance, and this validates a relatively higher price compared athletic beverages such as Gatorade and plain water.

· Freedom: The Company’s products would be sold through mobile vans and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for convenience. The products will provide customers with the much-needed energy and enable them to remain hydrated all day long.

· Feelings: Grapefruit Honey Refresher will make the consumers feel great by providing them with the extra energy to accomplish their daily tasks and goals. Also, it will help customers meet their dieting requirements or want by replacing sugar with honey so that they do not worry about the high calories level that may affect their diet

· Future: The Company’s customer service will play a key role in identifying and eliminating any product issues to help build consumer trust and confidence. In particular, the company’s products will provide high-performance potential and quality health to help develop customer loyalty.

4. Identify the marketing vehicles you plan to use to build your company’s brand. Justify the key reasons why they will be effective. Provide examples of other non-alcoholic beverage companies that use these tactics effectively.

The company, based on the types of product offerings and target customers, will use various marketing vehicles to help build a strong brand and customer base. It will primarily use Web-based as well as social media marketing to reach the potential customers. This is because the target demographic market is more likely to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms to connect with a particular brand online. As a result, the company will use targeted techniques to build and maintain strong brand awareness with its target market to boost customer knowledge as well as the likelihood to buy. These will be tailored to Piscataway Township in the first six months and the whole of the State of New Jersey in 24 months’ time to boost the local sales. The company can use the social media platforms to communicate with the customers directly. Moth (2015) associates Red Bull’s market success with it’s extensive as well as integrated social media marketing campaign. By 2015, the company had accumulated more than 35 million likes on its main Facebook page, excluding other Facebook media pages that are specific to events like the Stratos Balloon Jump site or page, which boasted of more than 1 million likes. Red Bull also utilizes other platforms such as Twitter, Pinterest as well as Instagram to attract customers.

Mobile van marketing with a sizeable visual advertisement will be a crucial marketing vehicle. These will move to various locations to create customer brand awareness and persuade them to buy the product. The company will provide different offering like coupons for a free Grapefruit Honey Refresher product if a customer buys another partnered product. To do so, the company will require a sales force in these vans to ensure that the products can reach a broader market area.

The other marketing vehicle is sponsorship of sporting activities to build brand awareness in the target market. Depending on the company’s budget, this may include sponsoring a local or statewide sporting event. Various companies like Gatorade, Monster and Red Bull have succeeded in using this strategy. They use these events to build brand awareness through advertising and making the competing teams wear the companies’ logos. Red Bull, for instance, sponsors various international sporting events such as the Grand Prix and the Red Bull Air Race. Gatorade has sponsored the National Basketball Association. Monster has sponsored international events such as the Copenhagen Open and has a vital brand ambassador such as Rob Dyrdek to reach out its target market.

Conclusion

A new brand requires a robust marketing plan, and Grapefruit Honey Refreshers must develop the right marketing strategies to compete with the industry leaders. The use of mobile shops, social media marketing, and strategic sponsorships can enable the company to gain a sizeable market share. Nonetheless, the company must identify its challenges and understand its competitors to develop a formidable marketing strategy that can deliver success.

References

Abrams, R. (2014). Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies (6th ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Planning Shop.