Kudler_Marketing

Introduction Kudler Fine Foods as well as any other organization will need to follow their strategic plan and be open to possible amendments to their plan in order to be successful in today’s competitive business world where all their competitors are competing for a larger share of their industry market. Within this strategic plan, Kudler Fine Foods will need a marketing plan/program that must meet the wants and needs of its current customer base as well as any potential customers. In this marketing plan/program Kudler Fine Foods will need to perform some sort of an environmental scan that will provide a snapshot of external as well as internal factors which may impact Kudler’s direction in a positive or negative manner. This environmental scan needs to be done so that a solution can be implemented to mitigate against any potential loss of market share and allow for a more targeted market research. The environmental scan for Kudler Fine Foods would probably be concentrated mainly on customers, social demographics, competition, economics, and technology. Once this environmental scan is completed, Kudler Fine Foods can really dig deep into their market research of starting a new catering service. Market Research In the five step process of defining the problem, developing the research plan, collecting relevant information, develop findings, taking marketing actions, Kudler Fine Foods will be able to determine the value and benefits to its customers in having a catering service to go along with the services that it currently already offers along with meeting sale objectives set for themselves. In the case of Kudler Fine Foods, it probably would be easier to offer in-store questionnaires for customers to complete while at the store and offer some type of bonus of doing so like 20% of a purchase or have questionnaires mailed to its customers. And since this is the age of technology advancement and just about everyone has access to a computer it would behoove them to have a questionnaire on their website to fill as well. Another way to retrieve the necessary data would be to some type of data mining by point-of-sale services or some other type of sales tracking method to aid in collecting this data. Already, Kudler has defined the problem, which is to see if adding a catering service is of value to customers. They have developed the research plan by using questionnaires whether it is in-store, a mailer or online service and in this they will have collected the relevant information that it needs to develop its findings into making a marketing plan that will make the catering service profitable. In a similar situation in my industry working for a credit union, we surveyed members who closed their accounts. This data was too limited due to the contents of the survey, so we put together a more detailed survey and not only surveyed members that had closed their accounts, but members that had active accounts. What we found out was that our members did not see themselves as owners. They had no clear perception as to the value of belonging to a credit union versus conducting their financial business with multiple banking organizations or other providers of financial services. Thus, in developing our findings we started to perform member education, educating all existing and prospective members of the full benefits to be derived from credit union affiliation. As a result our membership has grown in consecutive years. So I say in this, if Kudler Fine Foods can come away with information from its questionnaires to get an understanding if its customers would like a catering service, they will definitely save marketing costs, other expenses as well as increase their profitability. Marketing Mix In understanding their customers wants and needs and translate them into actions, it reduces Kudler’s risk and uncertainty whether to go ahead with the catering service or dump the notion and go into another product direction. With this new service Kudler is ready to launch to its customers, they are trying to attract potential customers as well and to do this they need to address the components of their marketing mix for the new catering service that consists of the Four Ps: Product, Pricing, Promotions, and Place. With the frequent purchase program already fully functional giving Kulder valuable data on customer purchase patterns, so that they can adjust current product offerings on their shelves. Kudler could use this same technology with its members to track the number of customers using the catering service, what customers are using the service, when they are using the service as far as time of the year and occasion, and how often they use the service. By doing this, they can find out how the catering service fits within its product mix and see how profitable it is and maybe only offer it a certain time of the year if the data indicates such seasonal usage. Since this is a value added service, pricing should be at a minimum reflecting industry standards. Margins already set for 5% margin threshold for their frequent purchaser program and cooking classes should hold true for the catering service that is being introduced. Kudler already does promotions via events, newspaper, radio and television advertising, but they need to make usage of the internet to promote their catering service. By utilizing this market space, they will be to reach its current customers and potential customers anytime and anywhere. By using the internet, Kudler will be able to promote and sustain customer relationships through site interactivity by being able to customize each individual customer’s catering needs. And by this means, Kudler can attach email specials not only for their catering service but their other products to their customers making this a very cost effective marketing tool allowing their sales staff to reach bonuses without having to go out an solicit new customers. Kudler in focusing on improving their existing locations, they will be able to expand their business with the catering service without having to add additional locations since the catering service will be a mobile service allowing Kudler to do business in areas that currently doesn’t do business. This exposure should provide better retention of customers and attract new customers. Product Offering With the catering service, Kudler could establish different catering packages on its on, but in addition to these packages initially they should allow their customers to customize their on catering packages. After a few months of their catering service being up in and running, Kudler from its sales data can get an idea of what their customers like and adjust their catering packages to their customer’s desires and promote these packages as the most popular packages and increase the pricing some of these packages. Target Market and Technology Technology will be an equalizer and an expected delivery source for Kudler’s customers and potential customers. Technology advancement should not be a challenge to Kudler since they already have a proven source of computer hardware and software to meet their needs with customer’s growing dependency on the internet to obtain products and services. As this dependency grows, it will be easier for Kudler to promote its products and services on its website as well as having the ability to send via email promotional products and services to its customers while their site could reach out to potential customers looking for products and services that it offers. Thus, having the potential to go beyond the initial targeted market by building its visibility via the internet. Catering Decision If Kudler Fine Foods decides to go with the catering service after it does its marketing research, it should become a good fit with the decision to use the services of the local growers. They will not have to wait for produce to come in with their current vendors, which will cause delays in catering appointments. And the freshness of the produce due to it being a local grower should just promote Kudler’s products and services as being one in the upper echelon of its industry. Conclusion Whether you’ve been in business for a while or just started, there is a level of marketing that you need to do to make people aware of your products and services that you offer. Once you’ve caught the public’s eye and gain some customers you need to find ways to solidify your relationship with these customers and find out ways to attract new customers. This is where your marketing plan comes into play after you have done your marketing research targeting your market you are trying to capture. In this marketing plan, you have clearly established your marketing mix for your product and services to aid in your businesses success. References Gomez-Mejia, L. & Balkin, D. (2002) CH. 7 Mangement The McGraw-Hill Companies Retrieved on March 18, 2007 Kudler Fine Foods (2007) University of Phoenix: Kudler Fine Foods Simulation Retrieved on February 26, 2007 https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd//CIST/VOP/Business/Kudler/Internet/KudlerPort.htm Kern. (2006) Chapters 1, 8, 21 Marketing The McGraw-Hill Companies Retrieved on March 19, 2007 Porban. (2003) CH. 13 Introduction to information technology The McGraw-Hill Companies Retrieved on March 18, 2007