International Marketing - Rococo Chocolates in France - Case Study Example

International Marketing Rococo Chocolates Target market: France. Table of content Summery/ ……………………………………………………………3 Objective…………………………………………………………………………3 Introduction……………………………………………………………………...3 Rococo Chocolates………………………………………………………………4 The concept of expansion……………………………………………………….4 The chocolate market in UK and France……………………………………….4 SWOT analysis of Rococo Chocolates in France………………………………5 Market positioning………………………………………………………………6 Marketing Mix………………………………………………………………….7 Integrated marketing communication (IMC)…………………………………..9 Branding strategies……………………………………………………………10 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..11 References……………………………………………………………………..11 Summery/ Abstract: This particular study will focus on the international marketing of Rococo Chocolates. The opportunity and threats towards the new market in France are described properly. The SWOT analysis of the Rococo Chocolates is also described wisely with many examples. It is very true that for grabbing an opportunity in an international market there are many factors are involved in the process. This paper has given the ultimate options for integrated marketing communications, positioning and marketing mix. The unconventional selling approaches are also described to show the shift of paradigm in the field of chocolates sales in France. Objective: The primary objective of this study is to find out the value of the concept of expanding the business of Rococo Chocolates in France. The other objectives are to find out the market potential of the Rococo Chocolates in France and the way of promoting the product to achieve a sustainable position in the French market. The integrated marketing communications and branding strategies are discussed to find out the optimum path of success in the new market. Introduction: The international marketing aspects have become a great opportunity for many companies. The Rococo Chocolates which is originated from London is now looking for great business opportunities in France. It is always very much challenging for any business entity to go global or to setup new business in other country. However, in this case the market is very much challenging as the growth level of the chocolate sales is not too high in the projected market, but with the help of out of the box thinking process the hidden path of the success can be achieved. To have a sustainable position in the French chocolate market, Rococo has to go through many changes accordingly. The strength and weakness from the inside and the opportunity and threat from the market must be analyzed properly to put step into the new market. Rococo Chocolates: Rococo Chocolates was founded in March 1983 by its owner Chantal Coady (Rococo Chocolates). For the last two decades the company has grown steadily. It has the great product line of different flavors of chocolates, and it also has different accessories related to chocolates. However, after catering the London with the flagship store in Motcomb St, in the center of Belgravia in London and with other two in London the Rococo has gain a great reputation within the London for selling rich and high quality chocolates. The founder and owner Coady is also the head of the chocolate society in London (Coe & Coe, 2007). With the vast experience of over 28 years she has gained the potential to take her company to the international level. The chocolate market in UK and France: The chocolate market in France is growing very sluggishly. The total confectionary market in France is around six KG per capita (Gibson & Williams, 2000). However, the sugar free chocolate and candies are doing well in the market. The sugar-free candies and chocolates have taken the 14 percent of the market value (Gibson & Williams, 2000). These figures indicate that low calorie chocolates or sugar-free chocolates are the key to the French Market. People are getting worried about high calorie consumption and sugar intake. In this case Rococo must concentrate sugar-free chocolates in the French market. SWOT analysis of Rococo Chocolates in France: Before the starting of any business activities the SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis is very important to understand the potentiality of the market. The SWOT analysis is having two factors, one is the internal factors and another one is the external factors. The internal factors are totally dependent on the company itself and the external factor comes from the market. Strength: Rococo Chocolates is full of ambition and has lust to achieve. The company is there in the market for more than 2 decades. It is having its own retail outlets where they sell their products exclusively. The company is equipped with well trained research team who are monitoring the new trend in the market. There are many positive points are there within the company. First of all the company is having a great reputation in London. Rococo Chocolates is known for its rich and high quality chocolates. Another great strength is the Rococo chocolate Schools (Rococo chocolate Schools) which encourage people to know more about chocolate. The different accessories related to chocolate have made them stronger. Weakness: Weakness is a factor which is most of the time invisible but it is visible after something goes wrong. However, the main weakness is the size of the company. France is one of the top countries for producing dark chocolates (Beckett, 2008). So, there are many small companies are there who are selling custom made chocolates. And some big companies are also there who could make the market tough with penetrating price war in France. Opportunity: The market is sluggish, but the opportunity in rising in the global market for unconventional chocolate market. The per capita income s rising and with that the purchasing power of the people are also rising. The corporate gifting and chocolate parties are becoming the new trend in most of the European countries. Market is not saturated and few big names are there in the industry, so the opportunity is there to be grabbed. Threat: Threat is always a part of a business. It is a small company and would be focusing for opening few stores in France and with the passing of time the formation and psychology about the toys are changing very fast. Tight competition and price war and acquisition by big players are the main threats. The company needs to be innovative to survive among the highly competitive business world. Market positioning: Positioning of the company in the market is very much important. Each and every company should know where to position themselves within the market. In this case Rococo Chocolates is looking for an opportunity in France confectionary market, mainly the chocolate market which is growing in a sluggish way. The Rococo Chocolates is having competitive advantages over the traditional toy makers. However, the market share enjoyed by the company is small in the total industry prospective. The positioning can be identified by the BCG Matrix (Boston Consultancy Group Matrix). According to the BCG Matrix analysis (Value based management. Net, BCG Matrix) Rococo Chocolates is in the Dog Mark box, that is low growth and low market share, in this condition Cool Pals should position itself in such a way so they can shift to the box with Cash cow in the BCG Matrix. For this they need to invest wisely towards the unconventional way of selling chocolates in France. Instead of taking a big steps and spending huge to be the leader, it should be slow and steady in the market so it would become the leader in the near future. Marketing Mix: In this new era of marketing the traditional 4 Ps are not enough anymore. As every product is associated with some kinds of services so the 7 Ps are more relevant. The new age marketing required some more specifications as far as the target market is concern. The traditional four Ps of marketing are important for the product marketing. However, according to Crane (1993) the additional three Ps are also very important for the products which are associated with services (Crane: 1993). In this case Rococo Chocolates is selling chocolates but, it is also intro organizing parties and events for the corporate houses, which is basically service to the corporate bodies. People, physical evidence and the process are the extra three Ps which should be given focus. As per Brink & Berndt (2009) the customer database should be maintained to get a proper customer relation for a longer time. The traditional 4 Ps of marketing mix, that is product, price, place and promotions are basically for the tangible products. However, with the advancement of the marketing concepts and with the advancement of the service based market the three more Ps, that is; people, physical evidence and the process have become very important (Lancaster & Reynolds: 2005) Product: The product is very important for any business. However, in this case the products are basically fashion clothing which caters to the Niche segment of the society Moreover, the quality of the fashion fabrics must be maintained properly Price: The price is a variable entity. It differs according to the demand and the brand and quality of chocolates. There are three other pricing strategies which are very must effective to put value towards the customer satisfactions and they are perceived value pricing, relationship pricing and behavior modification pricing strategy (Pezzullo & American Bankers Association, 1998). Place: The place is one of the most important factors for any business. The selection of the area to put up the selling point or the shop is very vital. The proper place, the store location and the luxury services in the shop would create a great brand image within the minds of the customers which would help the advertisements to be more successful, meaningful and trustworthy. Promotions: Most of the promotions and marketing activities are regulated by voluntary controls in UK. However, the voluntary controls are self regulated by the industry itself. According to Lewis and Trevitt (2000) all of these voluntary controls related to the advertising and the related laws with them are there to maintain a sustainable controlled situation in the UK market for the interactive marketing communication. The telemarketing or the promotion via phones must be avoided, according to Yadin (2002) the telephone preference service (TPS) is a very important service provided by the companies like British telecom to be taken very seriously in UK. Calling the TPS numbers are taken as a serious offence. In this era the combined promotional media is the best option for promoting and advertising. The development of the internet and the digitization of the television network have shown the paradigm to the media industry. Online promotion through an interactive website might be a very good option for the Rococo Chocolates, according to Kung, Picard and Towse (2008) the European countries have the higher accessibilities in the interment. Rococo Chocolates can use its interactive website to promote the online sales in France. Integrated marketing communication (IMC): The clear massage about the products must be distributed among the target group and in this case the integrated marketing communication (IMC) is very important. According to Smith and Taylor (2004) the IMC is pretty important as it generates the instant profit out of the communication process. IMC consist of many factors and they are advertising, public relation, corporate communications, online integrated communication etc. and the recent time most of the fashion brands are focusing on the online marketing and advance marketing and communication tools like newsletter, personalized gifting etc. Advertising: Advertising is an art. The aim of a proper advertisement is to target the audience is such a manner so they recollect the memories of the advertisement with many cultural activities. The characteristics of a good advertisement are the uniqueness accompanied with cultural touch. However, the society and the different strata and classes play a very vital role in the advertising industry. Rococo must promote them with BTL (Bellow the line) advertising strategy. Some print ads in some selected magazines would be a great initiative. However, it has to be remembered that advertising is an expensive affaire. Branding strategies: Brand is an intangible asset of the company. The brand is the name, logo or some marks associated with the product which distinguishes the product from the other identical products. (Clifton, Simmons, and Ahmad, 2009). Branding should be such that a customer can understand that a product is from Rococo within a blink of an eye. There are many branding strategies are there some of them are Brand Extension, Co-branding, multiple branding strategy, single brand strategy etc. Co-Branding: Co-branding is a form of branding where two or more brands come together to retain their identity in the competitive market. In this case all the brands are given focus and these campaigns are among the medium to long term strategies. (Begemann, 2008). Rococo has to concentrate on the Chocolate School as it is the path way of starting unconventional way of selling the chocolate in France. The co-branding with some hotels and restaurants may be a good option for them. The other branding strategies like brand extension would be helpful in the future but not at the beginning. The Rococo must concentrate on the new market with the great brand image of Rococo Chocolates from London. Conclusion: The Rococo Chocolates has got a great brand image in London and it has great experiences in service the nation with a great quality of chocolates. However, the idea of expanding the business through international wings is a great initiative by the company. But France as country to invade would be a tricky decision as France is well known for its Dark Chocolate. However, with innovative thought and with new paradigm of chocolate sales Rococo Chocolates can create a history again in the field of chocolate marketing In France as well. References Begemann F. Co-Branding as a Brand Strategy – An Analysis from the Resource-based View. Munich: GRIN Verlag, 2008. Brink A & Berndt A. Relationship Marketing and Customer Relationship Management. Claremont: Juta and Company Ltd, 2009. Clifton R, Simmons J, and Ahmad. Brands and Branding. New Jersey: Bloomberg Press, 2009. Coe S D & Coe M D, The true history of chocolate. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University. 2007 Crane F G. Professional services marketing: strategy and tactics. London: Routledge, 1993. Gibson & Williams, Functional foods: concept to product. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, 2000. Kung L, Picard Robert G and Towse R. The internet and the mass media. London: SAGE, 2008. Lancaster G & Reynolds F. Management of marketing. Massachusetts: Butterworth- Heinemann, 2005. Lewis R and Trevitt R. Business for Advanced Gnvq. Gloucestershire: Nelson hornes, 2000. Smith P R and Taylor J. Marketing communications: an integrated approach. London: Kogan Page Publishers, 2004. Yadin Daniel L. The international dictionary of marketing: over 2000 professional terms & techniques. London: Kogan Page, 2002. Nd. Value based management. Net, BCG Matrix. Available at: http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_bcgmatrix.html. (Accessed on 19/10/10) Nd. Rococo Chocolate School. Available at: http://rococochocolates.com/chocolate-school.html (Accessed on 27/03/11) Read More