Strategic Plan of Sandwich Inc - Term Paper Example

Five Year Marketing Plan for Sandwich Inc. Table of Contents Executive Summary Sandwich Inc. focuses on selling healthy alternatives to fast food and the company wishes to expand even though the marketing budget is limited. The situational analysis and the industry analysis shows that expansion is possible but partnering with other health related businesses and industries will be necessary before expansion can take place. Additionally, print advertising would be the best manner to get our message to the audience while other methods can be used after some time. Regardless of the medium, the message should be focused on health issues and the comparative health benefits of the product. Company and Situation Description Sandwich Inc. was founded five years ago and the company has focused on creating healthy fast food alternatives to the food offered by other fast food companies. Instead of creating meals which are heavy on caloric intake, the company creates food which has high nutritional value while remaining low on fats and carbohydrates. In essence, this becomes the primary selling point of the product since health issues and eating well have become important topics for the food market today. The company is operating on a local scale as it provides sandwiches through delivery for lunch orders to offices around the locality and even though the prices are higher than other fast food options, the quality and nutritional value of the food is also much better. For the development of the business of the company, a five year marketing plan is being created which outlines how the company should develop more stores and enter more localities in the coming years. However, Sandwich Inc. is certainly a niche market player since dominance in the fast food industry is still held by companies such as McDonald’s. Fast food has traditionally been considered as a quick, low-cost alternative for a complete meal (Hill, 2002). For North America in particular, speed, efficiency, low costs and giving consumers quick service has become symbolically associated with the idea of fast food. Words such as ‘drive-through’, ‘upsizing’ and ‘combo meal’ have become a part of American lives. However, somewhere in the race for efficiency and cost effectiveness, the drive to provide better quality products was lost and the focus shifted to flashy advertising, toys and gimmicks to get people to come in to fast food outlets for a quick meal (Linn, 2004). Strategic Focus and Plan With the present state of the development of a global culture and the presence of a shared market across the world, many brands of durable goods find that it is important to be accepted as a part of the local market (Harker and Esan, 2006). For food items and perishables however, the sales area is often limited to the area where the goods are produce since it is difficult to think that we could make cost effective deliveries in Chicago if our sandwich production unit is based in New York. Moreover, customers have different relationships with different brands and it is the strongest relationship between company and client which survives even when the product quality has suffered such as it has in the case of other fast food operations such or when the competition has offered a better alternative such as we have (Tenser, 2006). In such a situation, our vision is to make sure that the client knows why eating the sandwiches we produce is a better choice for them. Instead of chips or fries, we give healthy pretzels and corn based low-sodium snacks with our meals. Instead of sugared and caffeinated drinks, we give a bottle of juice or mineral water with our meals. In this way, our product comes perfectly in line with our mission of providing a healthy alternative to the fast food options available in the market and our vision is to improve our market base as the consumers become more aware of health issues. Goals This is also tied in to our goals of which the primary goal is the improve health awareness and push our company’s image as a supplier of fast food options which can compete with other offerings while providing higher nutritional benefits. We also want to see growth for the company and plan to have one more location operating in the city within the next 2 years and four more locations in the next 5 years operating in 3 cities within the region. Our product line will be expanded to double our current offering of four sandwiches to eight options and we will also expand our juice options from three to six. After five years our position in the market would be amongst the top 5 within our market if not better. Core Competencies and Competitive Advantage: Our core competency comes from the fact that we are able to produce healthy food alternatives to fast food offerings coming from the competition. This gives us a competitive advantage that we are the only company operating in the business district which provides fast food which is healthy as compared to other businesses which provide fast food that certainly does not have the right nutritional content. While the competition may have the advantage of a higher marketing budged and much stronger marketing message, Linn (2004) notes that obesity and other health related issues have become important concerns for the health sector therefore fast food related advertising may need to be controlled by the government. If such a situation develops, the playing field could become quite leveled for us. To better understand how we can use marketing to our advantage, a SWOT analysis becomes quite necessary. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Our first and biggest strength is that we are providing food which is high in nutritional value while it is delivered at almost the same price as fast food options that are not. Additionally, the shape of the market is moving towards health food options instead of fast food options as people become more aware of health issues in the world today. Of course there will always be individuals who stay away from health food since they do not consider it equal in taste to fast food yet they can be convinced to develop a relationship with the company even if they eat health food once in a while. Weaknesses: Our relative weakness is a lack of funding for marketing and expansion therefore we will have to use bank loans or venture funding for our purposes of expansion. For bank loans we must first have a sustained revenue channel so we can ensure that our company can meet its financial obligations that come with time. Additionally, the operational expenses we have at the moment are quite low since we are only running one shop but with expansion into other localities the operational expenses would certainly rise and quality control could also become an issue for us if it is not managed properly. Opportunities: The overall shape of the market itself provides an excellent opportunity as the public is certainly demanding health food options as an alternative to the fast food which is being thrust upon them. For businesses and the area where we operate, the lunch menu is our best opportunity and we need to do all we can to make our company the top choice for people who work in offices and may have a comparative sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, we can partner with health shops, gymnasiums and other complimentary businesses in the district to form closer partnerships for offering options to those who seek a healthy lifestyle. Threats: The highest threat which can be seen by our company is that fast food companies themselves switch from their core market and start pushing health food alternatives to their customers. Of course this threat is unlikely to be a strong one but the threat of other competitors entering into the market is certainly a significant threat. The threat can be mitigated by obtaining the first mover advantage in the healthy food option market in the region and by expanding our company to rise above the competition with an established brand name which has an image of quality attached to it. Industry Analysis The current situation as it is being experienced by the fast food industry is a reduction in positive public opinion and a rise in negative press which has followed the films such as ‘Super Size Me’ and other media reports. Industry giants such as McDonald’s have also placed as defendants under lawsuits filed but the product sales have not been affected in any significant manner (MacArthur, 2004). The people suing fast food companies say that while the companies knew their products was harmful for the people they never took any measures to warn people or to let them know about the dangers of consuming fast food items. The overall fast food industry comes across as having followed the same path as the tobacco industry which has gained a very bad reputation for lying to the consumer. Just as the long term prospects of the tobacco industry have been severely damaged due to their legal problems, the fast food industry could face the same issues. Additionally many environmentalist groups and health activists have made fast food companies the scapegoat for the health issues facing the nation as a whole (MacGillivray, 1997). Speaking for the industry, McDonald’s spokeswoman and Vice-President, Wendy Cook, noted that that the industry has to offer healthy choices (MacArthur, 2004). Thus there are industry wide issues which will soon force many other companies to offer healthy choices and become a part of our competition. These problems for the industry could be further developed into menaces if government action and process regulation is started against the industry. Additionally, new discoveries in the field of nutrition science could also cast a shadow on the industry if it is conclusively proven that all fast food of all types is bad for human consumption and health. Most importantly, as recommended by Flint (2003) we have to protect our home market and local customer before we consider expansion into the regional market. The Customer In these circumstances, our customer is a health aware buyer who knows of the negative effects that fast food can have on a person but at the same time wants the convenience which comes with ordering fast food for delivery, take out or dine in. This becomes our target market since those who are addicted to fast food from outlets such as Burger King or McDonald’s will be difficult to break away. The health conscious buyer is also likely to be engaged in health activities and be interested in active sports therefore any extreme sports events at the local level should be of interest to our company. Sponsoring these events and supporting health causes can be an important marketing tool for our company. Marketing Plan Our marketing should focus on the health benefits of our product along with the idea of convenience. Comparative charts which show the positive nutritional value of our sandwiches should be printed on the packaging which shows how our product is better than the competition. Additionally, we can donate a part of our profits to certain important causes such as the world food program and programs which help supply clean drinking water to various developing countries around the world. Starbucks is doing the same since every bottle of water sold at Starbucks contributes towards a fund to support developing nations and thus it also highlight their corporate agenda of being green (Natural Health, 2005). With a focus on health, our marketing campaign has to largely be based on print advertisements which come in local sections of newspapers and magazines since they are quite cost effective for us and reach a targeted market. We can also sponsor corporate newsletters for a large enough business and establish discount card based links with other health related businesses in the area. In this manner, the customer we are targeting will be reached quite effectively and word of mouth will play a significant role in expanding our business. Since we already have a location established in the business district, the next location we should consider should be near a significantly large college where the student population can be targeted. In this instance, we will expand our marketing to include college events and college health clubs with whom we can form a strong alliance as a healthy alternative to the common fast food based diet of many college students. Discounts for students and teachers at the college would also be a useful means of attracting the target marketing as well as ensuring that our sandwiches become the first choice for the students. For further expansion, we can look at the state of neighboring cities two years from now and see which city becomes the best option for us in terms of locating a branch outlet. The base of operations would need to be near the business district since that is currently our primary market but additional markets such as college students in neighboring cities can also be an option to explore depending on the results we get from our expansion into the local college market. Evaluation and Control Since our marketing campaign is based on print advertisements, once we have enough funds to expand into another location, we should also evaluate the print campaign strategy and add billboards as well as radio ads to our marketing portfolio. When we do that, we should also evaluate our delivery hotline phone numbers to ensure that the numbers match the message we are sending to the clients and the same should be controlled and developed if there is a need for it. For example, getting a number such as 1-800-Good-Food or a similar number would become important rather than just having a local number as we do now. Additionally, the market can certainly change with time and issues such as bottled water becoming questionable in terms of the plastic waste pollution caused by the bottles (FEEP, 2007). Our company has to stay quite aware of the developing situation and the fast food ‘fashion’ changes as they come and to remain on top of the news with regard to what is considered healthy and what is not. A sandwich of the week which promotes a certain vegetable might be a good idea once we have secured enough supply lines to make sure that the same sandwich can be offered across various locations. In this manner, continual evaluation of the marketing plan and the adjustment through managerial control of the marketing agenda remain important concerns for the company. Works Cited FEEP.com. 2007, ‘Great Lakes water is an asset that Michigan must protect’, [Online] Available at: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070826/OPINION02/708260547/1070/OPINION02 Flint, J. 2003, ‘Rules of the Game’, Forbes, 172(9), pp. 114-115. Harker, M. and Esan, J. 2006, ‘The Past Present & Future of Relations Marketing’, Journal of Marketing Management, 22(1), 215-242. Hill, A. 2002, ‘Developmental issues in attitudes to food and diet’, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 61(2), 259-266. Linn, S. 2004, ‘Food Marketing to Children in the Context of a Marketing Maelstrom’, Journal of Public Health Policy, 25(4), 367-378. MacArthur, K. 2004, ‘Super sized PR’, Advertising Age, 75(50), pp. 6-7. MacGillivray, D. 1997, ‘Hard to swallow’, Macleans, 110(26), pp. 96-97. Natural Health. 2005, ‘Ethos water & Starbucks’, Natural Health, 35(10), 24-25. Tenser, J. 2006, ‘The big payoff’, Advertising Age, 77(12), 1-4. Read More