This paper presents the marketing strategy for Everyday, a new organic chocolate candy bar designed to compete with mainstream non-organic brands by offering lower prices and broad distribution. Unlike most organic chocolate competitors that rely on natural food stores, Everyday targets conventional supermarkets, drug stores, and mass merchandisers where the majority of candy is purchased. The paper examines the product's channel distribution strategy, including supermarket partnerships, naturals stores, and online sales, as well as a detailed customer relationship management (CRM) plan using sales force automation, campaign management, and customer experience management technologies to drive awareness, retention, and long-term growth.
Why should one pursue a small niche market when it is possible to have a large market? Yet, this seems to be the path taken by currently available organic chocolate candy bars. Everyday is a new product with the goal of making the organic chocolate candy bar a ubiquitous consumer product. Its approach is simple: it will mimic the flavors of popular non-organic chocolate candy bars, but at a much lower price point than existing organic options. Furthermore, it will pursue equal footing with leading non-organic brands in the channels where most candy is purchased, rather than relying primarily on niche natural food stores.
The market for organic chocolate candy bars is currently only a drop in the bucket compared to the market for non-organic candy bars. Everyday is designed to transform this market dynamic. This paper presents the Everyday product, price, place, and promotion strategy that will give this product a significant competitive advantage over both non-organic and organic candy bars. It also discusses in detail the integrated marketing communications plan to achieve positive consumer awareness, as well as the customer relationship management (CRM) technologies needed to improve and track progress.
As mentioned above, ubiquity in supermarkets, drug stores, and mass merchandisers such as Walmart is critical to Everyday's success, because large-scale distribution will be used to compensate for low margins. Grocery stores, where 85% of all candy is purchased, are the real prize (Nielsen takes the mask off candy sales, 2007). According to Zind (2003), the supermarket has several characteristics that make it the perfect distribution channel for Everyday. First, the average consumer visits a grocery store more than any other type of store, and therefore presents ample opportunities to encourage impulse purchases. Furthermore, supermarkets encourage "better-best" pricing options more than other channels, and Everyday can more easily invite consumer comparisons with popular non-organic brands as well as organic brands. This comparison is welcome because consumers are likely to find Everyday a better option than only slightly cheaper non-organic alternatives, and a greater value than more expensive organic brands.
Everyday will follow Arcor USA's efforts to successfully promote its Whisper Chocolate Bon Bons in supermarkets. Arcor teamed with supermarkets on couponing, floor promotional signage, and product sampling, and used local media spots to advertise the promotion (Zind, 2003).
Everyday will also be sold in natural food supermarkets, but this will not be the focus of Everyday's distribution strategy as it is for most organic chocolate bar competitors. First, the naturals market is crowded — it carries more than 2,000 chocolate items, compared to conventional supermarkets that offer about 350 items (Tirone, 2007). The top 20 selling natural chocolate items represent only 26% of naturals supermarkets' chocolate sales, versus the top 20 items in conventional supermarkets representing more than half of their natural chocolate sales (Tirone, 2007). The contribution of new items is also more favorable in conventional supermarkets. In 2006, 75 new natural chocolate items became available, contributing 27% to total natural chocolate sales in conventional stores (Tirone, 2007). During the same period, 300 new items were launched in the naturals channel but contributed only 5% to total chocolate sales (Tirone, 2007).
"CRM technologies for retention and campaign tracking"
Everyday is poised to meet its objective of gaining similar market share to leading non-organic chocolate candy bars. Everyday is a high-quality organic product with a more reasonable price than the competition. It has a strong channel distribution strategy that relies heavily on supermarkets where most candy is bought, and joint promotions with this channel will enhance customer relationships for both retail partners and end consumers. Furthermore, Everyday will use sales force automation and campaign management technologies to ensure that it is effectively executing its channel and promotional strategies.
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