Marketing_the_Business

Healthy Snack Options – Marketing the Business Learning Team B University of Phoenix MKT/431 July 1, 2012 Steve Williams   Healthy Snack Options – Marketing the Business After developing the healthy lifestyle products, the logical conclusion of a distribution channel used for these products would be directly through wholesalers. To make the product reach farther destinations, getting an intermediary would help expand into other markets. “Distribution has always been about maximizing warehouses, people, and technology” (Rosen, 2012). Buying and selling a good works in many ways. Joining the retailer’s distribution channel will allow the product to travel along regional stores along with independent small businesses. The distribution channel will be intensive. Supplying the product in popular areas, such as malls and other outlets allows for people to eat healthy whenever they feel the need for hunger and they will not be grabbing Snickers (the candy bar). Enough intermediaries will bring potential for a higher pricing point on the product. Appropriate Relationship Marketing Better health and good nutrition are the stepping stones to a longer life and lower health costs. Children who eat breakfast do better in school. Eating well gives people more energy and fewer health risks. Diabetes, heart disease, and cancer risks decline when proper nutrition and exercise are part of daily living. If people have healthy selections available, they can make a better choice. Our team offers healthy options for busy people. The vending option allows convenience, benefits, and delicious foods that busy people need and enjoy. Children can have easy access to healthy foods and reduce the demand on school cafeterias. Larger companies can use the vending option to provide healthy food options without having an onsite food service. The idea of vending machine food trucks allows healthy choices delivered where ever needed. Our company needs to develop continued focus on healthy habits and survey our customers for comments and input for improvement of our products and services. Advertising and Promotion Strategy The team with healthy snacks on the go desire to develop into healthy ambassadors trying to educate our children and families on nutrition, fitness, healthy weight loss, maintenance, and the risks connected with obesity. The promotion team sets up booths near the vending machines to give out healthy recipes, informational pamphlets, and distribute healthy snack samples weekly. The purpose of this promotion is to develop our brand and build short term sales. In addition, our promotions includes buy one get one free (BOGO) or a two for one specials, coupons, and special events. Promotions are generally easy to set up and create short term progress. For example, individuals can write an essay, poetry, or poster with nutritional guidelines and healthy award incentives to promote awareness of childhood obesity; this encourages, and support healthy eating habits and develops physical fitness regiments. The promotional event becomes an advertisement campaign for our healthy snack on the go vending machines displayed in homes, school, business, churches, park and recreation centers, as well as the Internet, and on Disney television and radio stations. Launched by the First Lady, along with the first major media company Disney Let’s Move! resolves the challenge of childhood obesity within this generation; so our children can grow up, be healthy, and pursue their dreams. Healthy on the go snack vending machines is part of that partnership (LetsMove, 2012). Combining common sense with comprehensive strategies, Let’s Move! wants to put children on a healthy path for the future. Defining Technology Requirements There are numerous new technologies that are available on the market, such as the Internet, cell phones, iPods, podcasts, computers, etc. that businesses use to market their products or services and develop their brand. Viral marketing (forwarding method) is one use of technology that the company can use to market the healthy snack options. Viral marketing will allow the company to create detail messages, videos, visual images or samples of the product and send it out to promote the business; forward to other customers or potential customers (Dowling, 2011). The company can use technology (Internet) to create a website to promote the healthy snack options by offering coupons, special discounts, free samples, and other information related to the product and the company. This would help drive traffic to the website. Creating a website on the net would also allow the company to make use of social media, such as Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc. Text messaging would also be a good method for the company to use to market the healthy snack options. Text messaging is what people use to communicate across the globe locally and worldwide. This would allow the company to send text messaging out to customers to inform them of new offers and products. Joining the retailer’s distribution channel will allow our product to travel along regional stores along with independent small businesses. Conclusion To maintain a healthy metabolism and avoid overeating, it is essential to keep healthy snacks. Eating healthy snack every three to four hours is simple when an individual is at home however; the challenge comes when away from home. First Lady Michelle Obama started Let’s Move, a national crusade with a goal to eradicate childhood obesity; the intention is to have today’s children arrive at adulthood at a healthy weight. “Let’s Move! offers parents and caregivers the tools, support and information they need to make healthier choices while instilling healthy eating habits in children that will last a lifetime” (Eat healthy, 2012). By putting healthier snacks in vending machines and placing them in schools, work sites, college campuses, businesses, fitness centers, hospitals, etc. people will eat healthier when it is accessible. Our company needs to focus on healthy habits and survey our customers for comments and input for improvement of our products and services. The promotion team will set up booths near the vending machines to give out healthy recipes, informational pamphlets, and distribute healthy snack samples weekly. The purpose of this promotion is to develop our brand and build short-term sales.