The Marketing Mix of Mini Cheddar - Essay Example

? The Marketing Mix of Mini Cheddar The main aim of this study was to asses the 4P marketing strategy popularly known as the Marketing Mix employed by the Mini Cheddar Company to market their cheese products. In the study we administered 20 questionnaires on about 100 members to assemble information on the product, promotion, place and price. This abstract part provides the overview of the company and the products they sell. The Mini Cheddar is a British Company that deals with cheese and cheese related products. The analysis of the results indicated that the Mini Cheddar Company was doing very well in Britain market. The good results of the company were because of the good strategy of the company price and product quality. However, the company needed to improve on promotion and the place as it caused the company some problems. The study through the questionnaire pointed out that the company needed to do more on its strategies to improve it marketing strategy and meet good customer base. Introduction The source of the information on this part was from Kenilson who is the author of the book, “Marketing (Daewin, 2011)” .Cheddars are products of baked Cheddar cheese, which are flavored with the British savory biscuits with granular crumby texture. Cheddars in the present market are sold under the McVitie’s. Mini cheddars came in as a result of diversification of the products by theMcvities’ as the sales of their unique products started to wane. They products became increasingly popular in the 1970s, which led to the introduction of new flavors in the market The flavors introduced in include the Marmite, BBQ Beef, Pickle and Mature Cheddar. The new variety of crispier lined Mini Cheddars called Crinkly were also launched .The company strategy is to be the market leader in a competitive market to ensure their sales are higher and have a great customer base. Product quality and price plays a crucial role in the marketing strategy of the company. The company has customers in all categories which range from children to adults. The company products are unique and are of high quality. The company prices are reasonable and affordable to their cu8stomers.However, the questionnaire administered indicated that there is the need to improve on the strategy of promotion and the location of the company’s outlet (http://www.minicheddarusa.com/AboutUS MinicheddarHistory.php). Methodology In the process of administering the questionnaire I had four members in my team, Mary, Paul, and me. As a team we decided to sit down and decide to design the best questionnaire which we will carry research on the cheese brand and establish the concept of Marketing Mix. We came up with 20 closed questionnaires in order to come up with valid results from the respondents. Lastly, we administered the questionnaires on about 100 respondents in Upper Tilley Shopping mall and we managed to receive 80 feedbacks concerning the study. Results and the analysis of the Mini Cheddar The findings on the administered questionnaire were presented in percentage form. Majority of the correspondence to the questionnaire knew what Mini Cheddars and it represented 80% of the population. On the other hand, the number of those who did not know this product completely was 20% of the total samples in the questionnaire. The questions were entirely based on the 4P Marketing Mix strategy. Products The cheese products from the company is meant for several categories of people who include the children and adults and in order to meet the needs of these diverse groups of people the company products should be of high quality. On the question on what the consumers look at in buying the Mini Cheddar products, many correspondents to the questionnaire said that they look at quality, which 35% of the total questionnaires administered. 20% of the questionnaires liked the taste of the products, thus making them to buy the product. Still on the product, most of the customers who responded to the questionnaires preferred the original cheese, which was represented by 60% of the correspondence .Those who liked cheese and onion were 25% and the one who preferred cheese and BBQ were 15% of the total questionnaires administered. The company provided variety of the products thus meeting customer satisfaction and the customers admitted that the quality of the products was commendable. Customer’s preferences in packaging, advertising, and tradition were not so popular to the customers and were represented by 15% each. On the duration in which the customers had used the products, it was higher for those who had used it for 1-5 years followed by those who had used the product for less than one year. Those who had used the product for more than 6 years were less. The respondents also agreed that the packaging of the company’s products was commendable. Price The company being situated in Britain provided the company with good position to lower its prices below those of the rival cheese companies. This is the main reason why most respondents indicated that they were comfortable with the prices of the company hence high number of customers. This On the issue of the price of the products, most of the respondents indicated the price of the products is reasonable and this represented a population of 50%. Those who believed the prices of the products were cheap and those who said the prices are expensive was represented by 25% each .The Mini Cheddar Company in order to woe many customers to buy their products the company need to employ more strategies on the price which may include promotion . Place The location of the company outlets posed a challenge to the company as customers sometime could not access the products in the local supermarkets. On the place preferred by the consumers, most of the Cheddar customers bought the product through the online mode and this represented 40% of the total respondents to the questionnaire. 30% of corresponds equally indicated that they preferred buying the product from supermarket and other convenient stores. Most of the consumers of the product travelled for long distances in search of the cheese products. The results indicated that the percentage who travelled for up to 5-7 miles were 55% while those travelled for distances of 2-5 miles were 35%. Those customers who travelled the least in search of the product were 10% .The Company should avail its products in the local supermarkets and through online marketing. This will ensure it meets high number of customer’s .The Company can increase the number of the outlets and embark on international marketing to boost its sales (http://www.minimacheddar.co.uk) Promotion Promotion involves product sale and advertising and it is meant to influence the customer’s choice and win the customer to buy the product. Promotion is one of strategies employed by the company, but it has limitations on the level of coverage. On the issue of promotion of the product, most of those who filled the questionnaires showed that 50% watched Cheddar TV adverts, 30% of the customers watched the adverts sometime, while 10% of the respondents never watched the adverts and others almost watched the adverts every day. On the question of how they felt about the adverts 55% indicated that the adverts are creative. 35% constitute those customers who felt that the adverts were surreal, artistic and boring .The promotion has not been widely utilized by the company since the products has not penetrated to other countries like those of Middle East . Conclusion In conclusion, the Mini Cheddar is a cheese product which has established it dominance in the market domain. This is due to factors which have favored the product in the market. Because of adequate price and product strategies employed by the companies, the products have a customer base. The other factor, which has contributed to its high market dominance is the quality of the products, this giving the customer the needed satisfaction. The product has succeeded in outweighing the rival cheese products available in the market. The company can improve its strategies by revisiting the place and promotion strategies. The study, however, has its limitations since the study was administered on 100 respondents it can be biased since it has not gathered for the all categories in the population. However, the conclusion of the study is just a recommendation. Bibliography 1. Daewin, M., 2011, The Creative Kitchen: Food Gifts to Make and Give, Chicago: Leisure Arts 2. Dalal, T. 2002, Finger Food for kids, Dheli: Sanjay & Co Hannsz, G., 1998, Adweek: Western advertising news, Canberra: A/S/M Communications. 3. http://www.minicheddarusa.com/AboutUS MinicheddarHistory.php. 4. Lemos, C., 1998, Everybody’s San Francisco Cookbook, Chicago, CA: Peter Browning.Pestka, J., 2009, Professional Garde Manger: a Comprehensive Guide to Cold Food Preparation, New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons. 5. Vernon, R., 2008, West Point Market Cookbook, London: The University of Akron Press. 6. http://www.minimacheddar.co.uk Appendix 1. Do you know “mini cheddars”? A yes B no 2. How do you know about Mini cheddars? A. TV Adverts B. word of mouth C. Magazine D. Radio E. Newspaper F. Company website H. other 3. Why do you choose this cookie? A price B packaging C quality D taste E tradition F advertising 4. How long have you eaten “Mini cheddars”? A less I year B 1year—5years C 6years—10years D more than 10 years 5. What do you think about the price of Mini cheddars? A. Cheap B. Reasonable C. Expensive 6. Do you like mini cheddars? A yes B no 7. Where do you buy Mini cheddars? A. Supermarket B. Online C. convenience store 8. If you do not like you which brand biscuits would buy? 9 Have you bought ‘mini cheddars’ near your house store/supermarket? A 1-2miles B 2-5miles C 5-7miles 10. How often do you see the TV advertisement of Mini cheddars? A. Almost every day B. often C. sometimes D. Never 11. Which supermarkets do you often buy mini cheddars? A. ASDA B. TESCO C. Sainsbury D.M&S 12. What is your feeling of Mini cheddars TV adverts? A. Interesting B. Creative C. boring D. Artistic E. Surreal 13 On a scale of 1-5(1-bad, 5-good), how much do you like the packaging? A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. 5 14. Do you believe Mini cheddars are health for you? A. Yes B. No 15. Would you buy to have a discount? A buy one get one B buy three for two C others 16. Why do you buy them ? A morning snack B afternoon snack C evening snack D eat with cheese 17. Do you know mini cheddars cheese & onion flaw our ? A yes B. no 18. Do you know mini cheddars cheese & BBQ flaw our ? A yes B no… 19. Do you know mini cheddars original cheese flaw our ? A yes B no 20. Which one do you like best? A cheese & onion B cheese & BBQ C original cheese Read More

 

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