Importance of Marketing for London Bites - Case Study Example

London Bites Introduction London Bites is a takeaway sandwich and snacks shop, based in South East London. As the name suggests, it is a takeaway snacks shop, hence it makes all the more reason that London Bites will be taken as a shop where customers would come, pick up their snacks and leave immediately. They would not dine here nor would they ask for delivery purchases. It is a usual ‘coming to the store and picking your snacks’ phenomenon attached with London Bites. The manner in which it will turn out to be successful in the long run depends a great deal on the way it is marketed, said positive word of mouth about and lastly proper measures of public relations – all of which will significant address the issues related with its sales. This report will specifically cover the underlying issues related with marketing London Bites, segmenting its customers based on different variables, communication the marketing message in an effective manner, improving the customer service regimes and lastly setting prices in accordance with the target audience’s expectations. Importance of Marketing for London Bites The role of marketing is of fundamental importance to this new takeaway sandwich and snacks shop. London Bites would benefit immensely by having a clear cut audience for its own self and then devising a message which is geared to look after their needs. For starters, London Bites could focus on building up a message for its customers. Then it can go on and reach to these customers as and when it feels the need to do so. It would be better for London Bites to do such things on a constant basis. Marketing will open up the avenues for its basis of sale and would tell the customers that there is a takeaway sandwich and snacks shop in the South East London suburbs. It would be in the best interest of London Bites to target the customers who usually reside in South East London, as these will be the perfect individuals for whom the company can produce fresh and quick sandwiches and snacks. These people would be told that they can pick up sandwiches and snacks en route to work as well as takeaway these snacks as and when they feel like from the shop (Douglas, 2000). Also the element of convenience would be highlighted in the message that would be developed under the marketing regimes. The focus would be upon telling the audience that there is a takeaway sandwich and snacks shop in their vicinity and they can throng it as and when they feel like. It would look after their needs and offer them the best available services, coupled with reasonable costs and packages (Hills, 2008). The takeaway phenomenon has started to become a hit with the masses and London Bites would perceive its sales going up only if it develops a clear cut basis marketing plan for the business and then goes about following the very same. The need is to remain consistent with the marketing aspects that are devised under the auspices of London Bites and propagate the message to the people for whom London Bites is in business in the first place. Market Segmentation It is very important to understand that segmenting the market for London Bites would solve half the problems related with its marketing efforts. When the owners know beforehand who they are going to target, it would become very easy to actually go about doing the relevant things. London Bites thus needs to know on what basis the London market would be segmented. The following are the aspects which could be considered: In terms of vicinity to the snacks shop Spending patterns of the customers Office going employees Students Housewives, etc Now, when the owners know who they are going to target, their job would become pretty easier. They will thus know how to properly budget the very segments in a proper and adequate way. For example, if London Bites aims to offer the sandwiches and snacks to the people who live within the suburbs of South East London, it would be appropriate to reach out to only those people who hail from this area of London (Moschis, 1994). If it has segmented the market on the basis of people who can afford to buy takeaway sandwiches and snacks, then the people who are a part of the respective socio-economic class (SEC) would be reached upon. If only the employees and students are seen as the best segments for the eventual sale of sandwiches and snacks, then these people would be reached where they spend their time the most, i.e. the office places and schools, colleges, etc. If the housewives are the best bet as far as sale of these snacks are concerned, then it would be fitting to drop leaflets and page inserts in newspapers at the homes which are situated in the vicinity of South East London or the ones who could easily afford to buy takeaway snacks for their hunger needs. The business would operate more effectively if it knows beforehand how it will reach to the correct audiences and in what manner its message should be aligned, for the betterment of both the business as well as the customers (Swenson, 1990). Role of Marketing Communications Since the market has been segmented now and the audiences have been selected, now is the time to make a mark on the minds of the people through the message (Sumser, 2002). It is very important that this message reaches them through a credible medium or a combination of different media avenues (vehicles). For the message to be loud and clear, it is significant that London Bites chooses the marketing communications’ circles which propagate the best possible message with the usage of minimal resources, which might include costs and expenses that need to be incurred. If the target audience comprises of people hailing from the South East London area, it would be adequate to reach them through inserts in newspapers and magazines, or by dropping leaflets in their postboxes. This form of marketing communications or advertising is generally known as direct mail. Direct mail advertising would take into account the amount of wastage that does not happen due to putting up the same message on television and radio, where a lot of those people would get to know about London Bites which do not even form up as the customer base for the snacks shop. Hence it is a need to address only those individuals who will eventually visit London Bites in an easy way and do not find any difficulty as such in undertaking the journey to the sandwich and snacks shop. The future plans of the business would indeed be decided by the manner marketing communications comes into play and leaves a lasting impression on the minds of the eventual customers of London Bites. It is important that the message gets to them in a very adequate way since they will be frequenting this shop every now and then (Kitchen, 2004). They must be told about the prices and different deals which are on offer and thus the element of ‘value’ needs to be instilled within the marketing communications tenets right from the very beginning. Pricing Strategy The prices for sandwich and snacks will be set in accordance with the local level competition that London Bites will face in its inception phase. If there are absolutely no competitors, big or small, it would be up to the owners to decide what the expected buying power of the customers is going to be and whether or not would they acquaint the shop if the prices are deemed as higher or lower above a set scale. The need is to address this factor in light of the pricing theories which are already present within the market regimes. Either London Bites could go with the competitors’ outlays and fix a price which matches the ones that are already present in the market (Baker, 1998). Or it could set a price which is higher than the competition but for that it would need to be ready to upgrade the quality of the sandwiches and snacks as well as the décor of the shop. This would indeed be the market skimming tactic whereby the prices are set in accordance with an upper limit. However the customers would find it hard to come at a shop which sells sandwiches and snacks at a higher price than the competition and London Bites, for one, should be ready and willing to take this within its stride. Another pricing method which could be adopted by London Bites is based on the penetration model, which would mean that its prices are set at a very less rate as concerns to the competitors who are present within the market. The downside of such a pricing strategy would be that the customers would think of London Bites as an inferior sandwich and snacks shop and might not frequent it at all (Afriat, 2004). Thus the need is to have a pricing mechanism which is in line with the thinking ideologies of the customers (and people who will actually think about visiting London Bites). It would be in the best interests of London Bites to have a pricing policy which closely matches with its competitors so that this turns out to be an exercise which has safety written all over it. Customer Service Customer service is very important for London Bites since this is essentially a takeaway service. Such initiatives which require proper handling of customers and getting back to them in a very quick way would actually do wonders for the sake of bringing back business. Customers would perceive London Bites to be a reliable and quick service shop and would frequent it for its positive appeal. The courtesy and proper handling attributes would actually work in the favor of London Bites in the long run. People would suggest good things about it as well as hold positive word of mouth for its different products and the overall service regimes that are in place (John, 2003). Customer service stands at the heart of all business operations for London Bites and the snacks shop must understand this aspect before devising other policies. If its customer service is not geared to meet the challenges of present times, then it would be futile to enact measures of pricing, marketing and the like. The essence of London Bites thus falls within the domains of delivering quick and courteous service to its customers so that they come back again and again for their snacks needs. It would be paramount on London Bites’ part to comprehend the role of providing timely service to the customers since most of them are usually on the go and have to pick up sandwiches and snacks whilst on their way to work or school (Poisant, 2002). The concept of takeaway revolves around fast preparation of snacks and if London Bites falls short on this count, there would be serious hurdles in the wake of smooth business operations which come under its domains. Conclusion In the end, it would be appropriate to suggest here that London Bites depends a great deal on the way its owners decide to run it. The vision is important for this sandwich and snacks shop. If the vision seems missing, there would be serious issues in the wake of completing its sales tangent and profit-earning measures would receive a blow in a head on fashion. London Bites needs to draw its roadmap before it decides to move ahead. This is necessary as it will provide it the much needed framework to set goals, assign tasks to different employees, prioritize schedules and tasks as well as look after the issues which might confront the business on a constant basis within the future. All said and done, the role of owners is of utmost significance here since these people are the torchbearers for the business and it is their vision and farsightedness which will pave the way for the company in the long run. Bibliography AFRIAT, S. N. (2004). The Price Index and Its Extension: A Chapter in Economic Measurement. Routledge BAKER, Dean. (1998). Getting Prices Right: The Debate over the Consumer Price Index. M. E. Sharpe DOUGLAS, Susan P. (2000). International Marketing Research. John Wiley & Sons HILLS, Gerald E. (2008). The Evolution and Development of Entrepreneurial Marketing. Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 46 JOHN, Joby. (2003). Fundamentals of Customer-Focused Management: Competing through Service. Praeger KITCHEN, Philip J. (2004). Integrated Marketing Communications: A Primer. Routledge MOSCHIS, George P. (1994). Marketing Strategies for the Mature Market. Quorum Books POISANT, Jim. (2002). Creating and Sustaining a Superior Customer Service Organization: A Book about Taking Care of the People Who Take Care of the Customers. Quorum Books SUMSER, Ray. (2002). Marketing Communications: A Vital Element of Achieving Change. The Public Manager, Vol. 31 SWENSON, Chester A. (1990). Selling to a Segmented Market: The Lifestyle Approach. Quorum Books Word Count: 2,022 Read More