Marketing Planning of Kitchen Made Pies Company - Case Study Example

Running Head Marketing Marketing Marketing can be described as a matching process between the needs and expectations s, and the company's ability and capacity to satisfy them. For this matching process to take place successfully, the company must understand who the customer is and what value is required, and how best to deliver this value on a sustainable basis in line with the organization's overall corporate objectives (Fill. 1999). The purpose of marketing planning and its principal focus are the identification and creation of competitive advantage Kitchen Made Pies operates in high dynamic environment which requires continuous optimization of a product mix and new ways to attract customers. Price competition, backed by improved efficiency, is the main feature of this industry today (Chrisman et al 2003). Organizational Assessment Mission: the mission of Kitchen Made Pies is to produce and market high-quality fresh and frozen pies to institutional customers and restaurants. The original mission had made it clear that it was in the relatively unexploited sector that Kitchen Made Pies saw its clearest opportunity for innovation. Kitchen Made Pies set out to create a range of high-quality products that were distinctive in type, and especially appealing to people who had acquired a taste for pies. A wholesome, appetizing and, at same time, slightly exotic taste experience is what Kitchen Made Pies wanted to offer (Chrisman et al 2003). Goals: the main goal of the company is to get and keep a customer. Also, Kitchen Made Pies is aimed to achieve competitive advantage and sustainable competitive creating value for their customers, select markets where they can excel and present a moving target to their competitors by continually improving their position. Three of the most important factors are innovation, quality and inventory reduction. In order to improve logistics, the company is aimed to concentrate on doing business with drop-shippers which allow to involve larger orders. A continuum of resource sustainability is to compose resources and capabilities characterized by their durability and imitability. Financial goal is to increase sales and liquidity of business (Chrisman et al 2003; Paley, 2006). Marketing Policies Marketing policies Be in one of the most highly rated industries for stability and success, Kitchen Made Pies offers a high quality pies to everyone who wants an excellent taste. It is advantage is that Kitchen Made Pies can meet the requirement of wide audience marketing fresh and frozen pies. The high quality ingredients are the main criterion for Kitchen Made Pies. It does not want to reduce costs of production as it can worsen quality of their products. Recent years, sales of the company have failed (Paley, 2006). According the present day situation: "the current product mix, sales of approximately $35,000 per week which is $1,829,000 per year" (Chrisman et al 2003, p. 45). PR personnel also play a key role in responding to unflattering media reports or controversies that arise because of company activities in different parts of country. The basic tools of public relations include news releases, newsletters, media kits, press conferences, tours of plants and other company facilities. Financial Policies Financial policies Financial situation of the company suggest that it needs additional costs to cover all the expenses. According to Financial data, the net profit sales is "- 10,91%", total assets is " - 44,9%" and equity is "- 65,4%" (Chrisman et al 2003, p. 45). In general, these are very low figures for the company like Kitchen Made Pies. The other problem is that the bank note is due, and Kitchen Made Pies has to pay it. Refinancing the loan is the major concern of the company. Another negative situation is low liquidity which can have a great impact on the future financial situation of Kitchen Made Pies. Also, the major problem is Dean Distributing which has a poor payment record. High production costs are concern of the company (Chrisman et al 2003). Production Operations Production operations The production is based on Kitchen Made Pies's assembly line. It consists of several steps such as: one person operated the dough machine; nest the dough machine is passed to a second person who placed it into the pan After the crust is filled with ingredients, it is molded onto the aides of the pie pan (Chrisman et al 2003). Another type of production involves cream pies which are filled by hand. Then, pies are baked, and packed. The problem is frequent conversions required for new flavor and size of the pies (Paley, 2006). Marketing Strategy Kitchen Made Pies follows a differentiation strategy and ensures that the higher price it charges for its higher quality is not priced too far above the competition or else customers will not see the extra quality as worth the extra cost. Focusers help Kitchen Made Pies to achieve better differentiation or lower cost in market segments, but they also lose to broadly targeted competitors when the segment's uniqueness fades or demand disappears (Paley, 2006). Kitchen Made Pies successfully pursues the mass market cost leadership strategy (because it is so dependent on achieving dominant market share), others can pursue an almost unlimited number of differentiation and focus strategies (depending on the range of possible desirable features and the number of identifiable market niches) (Porter 1985), Specification in Kitchen Made Pies should be determined as a result of an organization's policy, which in turn resulted from decisions on its market policy, which in turn resulted from its consideration of the market or customer needs, requirements, and the activities of competitors (Chrisman et al 2003). This is the process of designing quality into the service. Sales strategy should be on a one-to-one basis. Because the market has moved on, there can be a gap between the skills required to compete in the market and those possessed by the firms. In these situation Kitchen Made Pies will be faced with four distinct options: to build up the resources required to compete in the market by closing the gap between the firm's competencies and the assets required to compete. Pricing and Promotion Pricing and promotion strategies are used as strategies tools in order to respond to the changing environment and customers needs. Taking into account the costs and benefits, it is possible to say that Kitchen Made Pies considers the selling price from several points of view (Chrisman et al 2003). The first is the highest price at which the number of units sold will not be significantly reduced. This pricing strategy results in optimum revenue and the greatest unit profitability. Planning the selling price is a direct responsibility of the marketing channel manager. The aim of the strategy is to meet market demands and potential to grow (Paley, 2006). To reach publicity, the company implements aggressive advertising campaign. Advertisements are placed in the local Press and radio, and consumers will be encouraged to order directly by telephoning (Chrisman et al 2003). The company can open its own store in order to attract local people to buy directly from Kitchen Made Pies. New store will help to increase awareness and will be a good brand advertising method. Another goal is to own transportation facilities to deliver products to the buyers. On the one hand, it will help to save money on transportation, and allows the company to improve delivery service (Paley, 2006). Customer Service One of the most important elements of marketing is to "maintain relationships that will satisfy individual and organizational objectives" (Bennet 1995, p. 166). In terms of benefits and costs, Kitchen Made Pies's customer service relies on reputation and trustworthiness and this no less true in the new forms of system-service. In fields such as building and insurance, consumers are seeking indications that their risks will be minimized or eliminated.. It implements a unique service, claims management, in order to meet requirements and expectations of the customers. Kitchen Made Pies proposes a wide range of services to ensure customer satisfaction. Most of the proposals for budgets needed for the advertising programs are supported by a benefit analysis projecting the results that are expected for the money requested (Chrisman et al 2003). The managers work with the advertising manager and the advertising agency in developing the programs and calculating the cost that they will generate (Paley, 2006). The planning activity is a direct responsibility for the channel manager, and the profit it yields is an indirect responsibility which is shared with the advertising experts (McDonald, Christopher 2003). These facts and analysis shows that Kitchen Made Pies adopts a marketing oriented approach which helps it to achieve strategic goals and objectives. The company tries to meet social responsibility policies intruding free services which benefit its consumers. The approach employed by Kitchen Made Pies benefits both the company and its customers, because they can choose service level and budget according to their income, needs and personal preferences (Crawford 2003). A customized approach helps Kitchen Made Pies to reduce costs and increase benefits for every customer. To increase sales, behavior segmentation is focused on whether or not people buy and use a product, as well as how often, and how much they use or consume. Consumers can be categorized in terms of usage rates. Kitchen Made Pies segments consumers according to brand loyalty: potential users, non-users, ex-users, regulars, first-timers, and users of competitors' products (Chrisman et al 2003). The main factors which would impact the marketing of pies are resource allocation and HR and technology. In a time of rapidly changing technologies companies should fasten product development processes. Also, the industry needs high qualifies professionals and new technological innovations in order to resist competition. Inflation, unemployment and social-demographic changes can reduce number of buying from the main segments, immediate eat and home stock. Conclusion In sum, Kitchen Made Pies is one of the companies which successfully adopted marketing process. It is the company which offers a combination of superior product, distribution, or promotion benefits and low prices; it enjoys an extremely advantageous position. The implementation of rigorous marketing methods and procedures lies at the heart of the successful marketing performance. These methods and procedures evolve over time and are fashioned from experience. The attainment of an appropriate match between an organization's environment and its strategy, structure, and processes will have positive effects on sales. With the changing economic environment, successful company's performance depends upon its flexibility and marketing strategy it follows. The facts mentioned above show that marketing strategy is a power toll which helps the company to manipulate consumption patterns and product image in favor of health-related products and profit maximization. Living by this principle, the company can maintain its competitiveness today and tomorrow and pursue long-term strategic goals. The macro- and micro environment factors contain a range of influences which should be taken into account before marketing planning and implementation phases. References 1. Bennett, P. D. ed. (1995). Dictionary of Marketing Terms, 2d ed. Chicago: NTC Business Books. 2. Crawford C. Merle. (2003). New Products Management. Irwin-McGraw Hill. 7th edition, 3. Chrisman, J.J., Fry, F.L., and Hofer, C.W. Kitchen Made Pies (Revised). In G.G. Dess, G.T. Lumpkin, and M. Taylor (2003). Strategic Management Text and Cases with Powerweb and CD, New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 44-56. ' 4. Fill, C. (1999). Marketing Communication: Contexts, Contents, and Strategies 2 edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 5. Joines J.L., Scherer C.W. Scheufele D.A. (2003). "Exploring Motivations for Consumer Web use and their implications for e-commerce". Journal of Consumer Marketing, 20 (2), March, pp. 90-108. 6. McDonald M., Christopher M. (2003). Marketing: A complete Guide. Palgrave Macmillan. 7. Paley, N. (2006). The Manager's Guide to Competitive Marketing Strategies. Thorogood. 8. Porter M.E. (1985). Competitive Advantage. New York, Free Press. Read More