Marketing Management of Manga Cafe - Essay Example

?Marketing Management Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 SITUATION ANALYSIS 4 s 4 Competitors 4 Company 5 Context 5 Objectives 6 MARKETINGSTRATEGY 7 Target Market 7 Positioning 8 Marketing Mix 8 Product 8 Price 8 Place 9 Promotion 9 Review and Control 10 Impact of Technology and New Media on Manga Cafe 11 Sustainability of Company with regard to its Marketing Strategy 12 Bibliography 12 Appendix 15 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Manga Cafe is a Japanese Cafe which provides a platform to the people where they can come and read Manga. In addition, the cafe also offers other entertainment services like internet, gaming, coffee and Japanese food and beverages. Although the demand of cafe is significantly high among the Japanese community however, cafe is facing significant criticism from the publishers of Manga who argue that Manga Cafe do not pay the general royalties to them. Such criticism has hindered the growth of Manga Cafe which has the potential to expand across the international markets. In this report, the marketing plan for Manga Cafe in London has been outlined. The Cafe will be started as a private brand in Shad Thames and it will target the Japanese nationals in London, students, tourists and travellers and people interested in Japanese culture. The primary target market of Cafe will fall between the age group of 15 and 44. The situation analysis predict that a huge number of Japanese nationals reside in London for many years. The competition in the cafe industry is tough however; the other cafes are primarily competition on quality and prices. In this report, the marketing mix has been developed based on the objectives of the company. The impact of technology and new media developments on Manga Cafe has also been discussed. Finally, the sustainability of the company in regard to its marketing strategy has been analysed. SITUATION ANALYSIS The situation analysis of Manga Cafe has been done by using the 4C framework. Customers The total population of London was 6,061,000 in 2009. The total population of Japanese in London in 2004 was 17,000 which have grown to 18,000 in 2009 (Table II). The significant number of Japanese nationals in London actually predicts a considerably large number of customers of Manga Cafe in Japan. Competitors A number of cafes are present in London and three largest Cafe operators in the city include Costa Coffee, Starbucks and Nero. The following positioning map shows the position of potential customers of Manga Cafe in London. The figure shows that Starbucks has been positioned as the brand with average quality of product and services for relatively high prices. Starbucks aims to launch more stores in West London because the company aims to maintain its position as the number of coffee chain in Britain (Neate, 2009). Costa Cafe has been positioned as a brand with good quality product and services available at relatively average prices. Nero is the brand which is offering high quality product and services at very reasonable costs. Figure: Positioning Map Company Manga Cafe is a Japanese Cafe which provides a place to the people who have interest in reading Japanese comics. This company attracts a huge Japanese audience because this Cafe demonstrates the Japanese culture. Manga Cafe has also expanded internationally by establishing cafe in Paris. Context Demand of cultural cafes is increasing in London because of the increasing number of immigrants in London. The immigrants from Italy and Spain have introduced cultural cafes in London. Moreover, the Japanese community is expanding in London because of the increasing number of Japanese students are moving to London for higher studies. Objectives Manga Cafe will operate with an objective to attract 18,000 Japanese nationals living in London in its first year of operations. The Cafe will have an objective to have at least 100 visitors on an average day. MARKETING STRATEGY Target Market Five customer segments have been identified as the major target market for the Manga Cafe. These target segments include a specific age group, Japanese nationals in London, Student community, Travelers and tourists and individuals who are interested in learning about Japanese culture. In the demographics variables of the target audience two factors including age, nationality and profession have been considered very important. The Cafe will target the people between 15 and 44 years old. The table taken from Office of National Statistics shows that total 2,846,945 individuals come under this age group (Table I). The second target group of the Cafe will be the Japanese nationals living in London as mentioned above that around 18,000 Japanese nationals live in London. Third target group is the students who appear as one of the most attractive market for Manga Cafe because students are more interested in learning the culture of the economies. Moreover, Japanese students appear to be the second largest international market for the universities and schools in London (ThinkLondon). According to statistics shared by Schools web directory (2010), London has around 15 universities, 327 secondary schools, 51 FE colleges, 1233 Primaries and 114 Special institutions. The fourth target group is the travellers and tourists visiting London. Since tourists are usually involved in visiting the cultural places therefore, Manga Cafe will be not only attractive for the Japanese tourists however, tourists coming from different countries will definitely take interest in visit Manga Cafe. Finally, Manga Cafe will target the individuals who will have interest in knowing about the Japanese culture. Positioning To launch the Manga Cafe in London, products benefits and features positioning strategy will be used. By adopting this strategy, the company will promote the features that Manga Cafe will offer. Moreover, to make Manga Cafe competitive in the cafe industry of London, price-quality will be also considered very carefully. The Cafe will offer high quality services at very reasonable rates; however, rates will be distinguishable because of the distinct services of the Cafe. Marketing Mix Product Manga Cafe in Japan primarily offers Manga and other Japanese comic books however, to expand the customer base in London; the Cafe will also provide other entertainment services which most of the other cafes in London are providing such as food and beverages, DVDs, Games and Internet facility. Price Manga Cafe will focus on the price penetration strategy and the visitors will be charged 3 pounds per hour even if they spend less than one hour in cafe. During the stay of the visitors in the cafe they will be offered all other services at different costs identified in the price list. Place The first Manga Cafe will be established in Shad Thames because it is historic Riverside Street next to Tower Bridge in Bermondsey. This street has been attractive for the tourists who want to visit the historical places in London. The commercial property for Manga Cafe will be searched through online property agents. Promotion In order to promote the Cafe in the UK market, the company aims to adopt an integrated marketing communication strategy. Advertising Advertising will be the major tool of integrated marketing communications and the advertising Medias including local press and radios, websites and leaflets and posters will be used to promote Manga Cafe. The selected radio channel on which the ads of the Cafe will be broadcasted include WFTG-AM and WWEL-FM and their frequencies are 1440 AM and 103.9 FM respectively. According to the rates available at Gaebler (2010), the cost of ad for 30 seconds is $32.00 for both of the radio stations. The local newspapers in which the ads of Manga Cafe will be published are Edgware & Mill Hill Times etc. In addition, the leaflets of the company will be also placed in the Japanese shops, book retailers. It has been estimated that for around 10,000 fully coloured 100gsm leaflets, the total cost is ?136 (Leaftletprinting, 2011). It means that leaflets appear to be the cheapest promotional tool for Manga Cafe. Direct Marketing Since Manga Cafe also targets the student audience therefore, reaching out to the educational institutions will be another strategy of the Cafe. The leaflets of the company will be directly distributed by the representatives of the Cafe at different schools, colleges and universities in London. Public Relations The direct marketing will also provide Manga Cafe an opportunity to develop public relations. The Cafe will establish strong relations with the tourist guides and travelling agencies which may insist the travellers and the tourists to visit the cafe. Review and Control In order to keep a check on the performance of the cafe and to make important decisions, the management team of the Cafe will be supposed to develop monthly, weekly, quarterly and annual reports of the Cafe. Being a private company, these reports will be only shared between the management team of the Cafe. Moreover, the proper accounts will also help the company to fulfil the legal requirements such as taxes. In the weekly reports, the management team will review the revenues and total pound sales of Manga Cafe. The total expenses will be also reported to determine the weekly income. The customer feedback will be also shared with the management team of Cafe in the weekly report which will allow the cafe to further improve the services. Finally, the competitive position of the services of the Cafe and its position in the market will be also reported every week. Impact of Technology and New Media on Manga Cafe The technology and new media can significantly influence the operations of Manga Cafe in London because Cafe will also depend on technologies such as internet, online gaming etc. Unlike most of the other international cafes, Manga Cafe will not have sufficient financial budget to invest in highly advanced technology therefore, the competitors of the company can gain significant competitive advantage. For example, internet cafes like Cyberia in London is offering internet services to people who can also enjoy coffee and other entertainment services in the Cafe (Londononline). Adopting highly advanced technology will be much easier for these technology-based companies, which may negatively influence the operations of Manga Cafe. Technology advancements can also provide benefit to Manga Cafe because the operations of the Cafes can be improved. For example, if new advancements in data mining are emerged, Manga Cafe can get more opportunities to explore about their customers and market. Similarly, the new media developments can help the company to adopt new tools of communicating with its customers. Therefore, the new technology and media developments may either positively or negatively influence the Cafe. The idea is that in future if the company develop marketing plans, the changes in technology and media can impact the company as they can increase more options for the company to reach its customers. Sustainability of Company with regard to its Marketing Strategy The marketing strategy of the company has been developed so that company may get significant sustainability. Manga Cafe will be committed and willing to devote maximum resources to establish an enduring position in the market. The position of the company in London will not be easy to attack because the Cafe will establish direct relationships with the publishers of Magna who will provide the cafe with the recent editions in Magna. The Cafe will be positioned as a demonstration of Japanese culture and aestheticism and it will give a feeling of home country to the Japanese nationals in London. The other Cafes available in London are more competing on product quality and price and Manga Cafe’s positioning will be more based on service performance. Therefore, the marketing strategy of company will strengthen the position in the market over time however, to keep the interest of the visitors and to attract and retain more visitors; Cafe needs to consider the whims of a more fickle market. Bibliography Gaebler 2010, WWEL Radio Advertising Costs, viewed 21 February, 2011, Office for National Statistics 2002. Basic Data, viewed 21 February, 2011, Kotler, P, Keller, KL & Koshy, A 1972, Marketing Management, Edition 2, Pearson Education, India. Leaftletprinting 2011. Budget Leaflets Prices, viewed 21 February, 2011, Londo.gov.uk 2010. Population by Nationality, viewed 21 February, 2011, Londononline, Internet Cafes, viewed 22 February, 2011, Neate, R 2009, Starbucks to Open more London Cafes, viewed 22 February, 2011, < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/5062440/Starbucks-to-open-more-London-cafs.html> Schoolswebdirectory 2010, UK Schools & Colleges Database, viewed 21 February, 2011, ThinkLondon, Japanese Community in London, viewed 21 February, 2011, Appendix Table I: Age Structure of People in London Source: Office for National Statistics Table II: London Population by Nationality Source: London.gov.uk Read More