Market Mix: Promotion

"Considered by many to be the next big thing in social marketing, location sites like Foursquare and Loopt should be on every marketer's radar. Essentially, location-based social networking sites combine the fun of social networking with the utility of location-based GPS technology. (Lamb 349-350)" As such we would start out promoting our product on sights such as these and work towards getting our product name out there.

Because "Individuals tend to trust other people's opinions when it comes to purchasing. According to Nielsen Media Research, more than seventy percent of consumers said that they trusted online consumer opinions.  (Lamb 350)"  we would want to ensure our customers not only feel like they are getting a quality product for the price point that we want to receive.

Implementation, Evaluation, Control

The implementation we would use would be to have our product placed in a beauty shops and salons and we want our customers to associate their beauty being enhanced by the use of our product.

"Implementation is the process that turns a marketing plan into action assignments and ensures that these assignments are executed in a way that accomplishes the plan's objectives" (Lamb 28)
to do that we would price our product at a competitive rate and package it with testimonials from people that have used our product and love it.

"Implementing a plan has another dimension: gaining acceptance. New plans mean change, and change creates resistance. One reason people resist change is that they fear they will lose something". (Lamb 29) we would keep our product pure so those that have come to trust it and live by it will never be surprised at anything that might change in our recipe

Marketing Mix: Price

Keeping a price in mind that customers will not only see value but also quality in and since I am not a person that typically buys this type of item I am outside of my comfort zone. One thing I do understand though, as a guy, is quality over quantity. As the book states "Price is a component of value (a $4,000 handbag is perceived as being more luxurious and of higher quality than one selling for $100), but low price is not the same as good value. Instead, customers value goods and services that are of the quality they expect and that are sold at prices they are willing to pay." (Lamb 7)

Because "Lower-income consumers are price sensitive, but they will pay for products if they deliver a benefit that is worth the money"(Lamb 7) I plan on keeping the cost fairly low. The cost of face cream ranges from $30.00 up to $300.00, so I was planning on keeping the cost to around $40.00  

I am hoping that at this price it will develop a loyal base and after selling 100, 000 units we can re-evaluate how quickly the product sold and get customer feedback on the effectiveness of the face cream.

Marketing Mix: Distribution

Distribution wise I see this product starting out at only specialized stores such as Ulta or even Sally's Beauty Supply. The people that shop these type of stores are the ones that i would want to target for the simple fact that the people that shop there are typically the one that know quality and expect it.
"Place, or distribution, strategies are concerned with making products available when and where customers want them."  (Lamb 28)  I would also sell the product in spa's and even some women's hair salons because they don't just only do hair in these places anymore.

Once we have a stable clientele we would start investing back into the our product line and improve the formula as well as offer some additional "flavors."

Wanting to keep to the idea of "The best marketing tactic is to protect existing market share by reinvesting earnings in product improvement, better distribution, more promotion, and production efficiency. Management must capture new users as they enter the market." (Lamb 18) we would ask our first time users for informational feedback. 

Marketing Mix: Product

Using the chocolate made with bulk cocoa, and including other ingredients that are also in other typical face mask such as avocado and honey, the face mask I would be marketing would be surprisingly cheap and easy to make. Even at the cost of  ~$1.50/lb and keeping in mind that "About half of every dollar you spend pays for marketing costs, such as marketing research, product development, packaging, transportation, storage, advertising, and sales expenses." (Lamb 13)
That still leaves plenty of room for a nice profit. 

In comparison to the cost of a face tuck, using a face mask to enhance your skin is proven.The flavonols in dark chocolate can protect the skin against sun damage (though you'd probably better still slap on some sun cream)

Keeping in mind also that "The materials supplied determine the quality of the product produced and create a cost floor, which helps determine the retail price." (Lamb 41) if i spend more on the quality of the chocolate then i can also charge more on the overall product.

When you consider the options of more expensive part of chocolate can be up to sixty dollars a pound then if i wanted to market it to a higher end store such as Nostrums or Dillard's then i could. 

• Bulk cocoa (unprocessed, other than fermentation and drying): ~$1.50/lb
• Ultra fine cocoa (unprocessed, other than fermentation and drying): up to $6/lb
• Decent backing chocolate: $8-15/lb
• A nice bar of chocolate made with bulk cocoa (better than Hershey's): ~$15/lb
• High end baking chocolate (Valrhona): $20-25/lb
• A nice bar of chocolate made with ultra fine cocoa: ~$50-60/lb

"Studies reporting consumers' attitudes toward, and intentions to buy, environmentally friendly products show widely varying results. A Nielsen study found that while eighty-three percent of consumers worldwide believe companies should have environmental programs, only twenty-two percent would pay more for an Eco-friendly product."

 (Lamb 6) While it is a smaller market, our face cream is a natural product that can also be sold in stores like "Natural Grocers" that only sell environment friendly products.

Target Marketing

My target marketing group would be to the females aged 16 - 40 group. These are the group of women that are the most appearance driven, conscious group that really try to focus on staying young and looking good. 

The target market strategy identifies the market segment or segments on which to focus. This process begins with a market opportunity analysis (MOA)—the description and estimation of the size and sales potential of market segments that are of interest to the firm and the assessment of key competitors in these market segments. After the firm describes the market segments, it may target one or more of them. There are three general strategies for selecting target markets. (Lamb 27)"

Keeping in mind that the majority of this age group also use social media we would set up a Facebook page and twitter page in order to get the honest feed back that we want. 

"At the basic level, consumers of social media want to exchange information, collaborate with others, and have conversations. Social media are designed for people to socialize with each other. They have changed how and where conversations take place, even globalizing human interaction through rapidly evolving technology. (Lamb 338)"

The Situation Analysis, SWOT

"Performing a SWOT analysis allows firms to identify their competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is a set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to those of the competition. It is the factor or factors that cause customers to patronize a firm and not the competition."

We will perform a weekly SWOT analysis in order for us to keep track of the progression toward our goals.

Reviewing our internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and also examine external opportunities (O) and threats (T) constantly is going to help our company grow and succeed. 

Business Objective

As with any business, our business objective is to stay in business. We will accomplish this first by providing a product that is not only cheap to provide but also allows for a large profit margin.  To do this I would not only use the highest quality of chocolate but also provide a quality product that will provide the user that results expected from a product that we have provided. 

"...an organization exists not only to satisfy customer wants and needs and to meet organizational objectives but also to preserve or enhance individuals' and society's long-term best interests (Lamb 6)"

Objectives must be consistent with and indicate the priorities of the organization. Specifically, objectives flow from the business mission statement to the rest of the marketing plan. (Lamb 2)"

Business Mission Statement

Our Business Mission Statement is to provide a Eco-friendly quality product that provides our customers with the results they are looking for. We want our customers to not hesitate on the price and pick our product over anything else because it's affordable and effective.
"A mission statement should focus on the market or markets the organization is attempting to serve rather than on the good or service offered" hopefully the message that we also what to ensure a beautiful future for the next generation is transparent.

"The way a firm defines its business mission profoundly affects the firm's long-run resource allocation, profitability, and survival. The mission statement is based on a careful analysis of benefits sought by present and potential customers and an analysis of existing and anticipated environmental conditions"
We hope that it becomes clear that we not only want to protect our world resources, but also our customers vibrant beauty

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

The Pitch

https://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/chocolate-industry-report/

Health Benefits

Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants, which are believed to prevent or delay certain types of diseases, including cardiac disease. These perceived health benefits have been driving strong growth for products with the heavier cocoa weighting.

Instead of being something to avoid or consider a special treat, consumers are finding out that many diets and even doctors are recommending regular consumption of dark chocolate. According to Dr. Oz, dark chocolate “keeps you looking and feeling younger because it helps you control your blood pressure, avoid wrinkles, keep your skin younger and stay slimmer.” A sweet treat that you can feel good about!

I want to focus on the one thing every person is looking for, and that is to look and feel younger.

A dark chocolate face mask is going to help your skin avoid unsightly wrinkles, keep your skin looking younger as well as help you feel younger. The rich antioxidants will help oxygenate the skin giving you a soft youthful glow.  Ponce de Leon was looking for the fountain of youth, and it was no further then his own Easter basket.