Inter-Brand Competition - Report Example

Competition Competition for Jacob’s Coffee Shop will be in terms of inter-brand competition as opposed to intra-brand competition.This is because being a coffee shop, the shop does not have to use retailers and thus creating no atmosphere for intra-brand competition. In this regard, Jacob’s Coffee Shop will mostly have to worry about the inter brand competition as opposed to the intra-brand. McDonald’s McDonald’s is not just a coffee shop, but a fully fledged fast food restaurant. However, they also offer their customers beverages such as coffee. The beverages sold at McDonald’s can either be sold as takeaway in disposable paper cups or the customer can have the coffee at the restaurant. The reason why McDonald’s is such a big competitor for Jacob’s Coffee Shop is because it has had a lot of knowhow and has learned methods of increasing efficiencies so that it can use to minimize costs and increase quality at the same time. Because its efficiencies, McDonald’s is able to give the customers relatively high quality products (including beverages) and deliver them to the customer at relatively low prices (Schlosser, 2012). McDonald’s also gains some strategic advantage from its sheer size which makes it possible to create some economies of scale thus pushing their costs further down. This will mean that McDonald’s will offer stiff competition against Jacob’s. However, Jacob’s Coffee Shop has an advantage over McDonald’s in that it can serve its customers better and in a personalized way. Additionally the location of the Jacob’s Coffee Shop will also mean that it does not get direct competition from McDonalds. Differentiation strategy As identified, Jacob’s Coffee Shop looks to offer a different kind of service with regard to offering beverages. Unlike the tradition of most coffee shops where beverages are made and served in a generic way, Jacob’s Coffee Shop intends to serve its customers with customized beverages. This means that every customers will have a choice with regard to how they want their coffee or any beverage made. It is good to note that Jacob’s Coffee Shop will not only serve coffees alone, but will offer a range of non alcoholic beverages inclosing tea and fresh juices. Jacob’s Coffee Shop will also serve its customers with snacks and simple means that they can eat. To differentiate Jacobs, Shop from its competitors such as McDonalds, Jacob’s Coffee Shop will make sure that all the customers will be able to serve individual customers with individualized products thus making it easier for the firm to be able to enjoy their beverages and snacks in the best way possible. As Rieker (2013) says, big restaurants like McDonalds do not have the luxury to offer its customers customized services and this is where Jacob’s Coffee Shop will gain its differentiation strategy. At the same time, unlike the other big coffee shops and fast food restaurants, Jacob’s Coffee Shop not be located mainly in cities but will be located in suburban areas where it can serve the people who do not commute to town on a daily basis. Market position Jacob’s Coffee Shop intends to be a leader in the market by serving a market niche that has been neglected. Although Jacob’s Coffee Shop does not seek to be a leader in the beverages industry as a whole, it intends to be a leader in the niche it has chosen to serve. This niche of customers includes the following characteristic. Jacob’s Coffee Shop intends to target individuals who are not shy of paying a little more to get healthy and high quality products. This is because customized food products are of lower quality and poor health advantage. With the kind of products that Jacob’s Coffee Shop intends to serve the customers, they will be looking at the issue of heath as well as quality. To be able to serve the customers with this kind of products, extra cost will be incurred and therefore the customer will have to pay a little more than what the would pay in a regular restaurant (Edelstein, 2010). Secondly, these are people who are concerned about the long term health outcome of using unhealthy food. They are also people who do not usually commute to the city centre for work or business. Jacob’s Coffee Shop wants to differentiate itself in this niche and become a market leader that will be copied by others who will follow. This is a good time to do this because a lot of people are increasingly becoming aware of the long term benefits of using healthy foods regardless of cost. As a result, it can be said that the future of food and beverage industry is in this area where healthy foods will be served to people (Robbins, 2011). The culture of unhealthy generic fast food is expected to die slowly and give way to the culture of healthy customized food. Firms like Jacob’s Coffee Shop that will indulge in providing customers these kinds of food will be the market leaders in the future. Macro environment With regard to issues such as legal, technological, social, and economic factors that affect the marketing of a firm, the most important is the economic, as identified the kinds of products and services that Jacob’s Coffee Shop intends to serve its customers will require the customers to pay a little more than they would in the traditional fast food restaurants. The main reason that has led to the proliferation of the fast food culture in the US is economics (Winkelman, 2008). Economics plays a double role with regard to the proliferation of fast food culture. The first role is with regard to people’s consumption or purchasing power. As many people are economically restrained today as opposed to fifty years ago, they are not always able to afford the healthier food which is always a little more expensive then the less healthy fast food (Goyan, Sucher, & Nelms, 2011). The second role that economics ay with regard to the fast food culture is the fact that people are busier today and do not have the time to sit in a restaurant and wait for a good meal to be served to them and eat comfortably. Most of them want to eat while on the go and this has created the culture of fast food. This will mean that Jacob’s Coffee Shop may have a hard time with regard to the way it will be able to break into the market. At the same time, it is necessary to however note that this culture is changing, albeit in a slow rate. A lot of people, as has been identified above, are recognizing the long time benefits of eating healthy food (Wilson & Schlosser, 2012). In this regard, they are willing to pay a little more and are willing to take their time to eat a healthy meal. This new and emerging trend will be an advantage for Jacob’s Coffee Shop because it will make its marketing easier. Implementation strategy The implementation of the business will be as follows; Creating awareness Although the marketing campaign will have take care of this, there will need to be a way to introduce the business. A business opening party will be held at the premises of the firm. During this time, potential customers will be asked to come had buy the products at half the price. This will have two major impacts. First, it will help the business to attract customers and introduce to them the products of the firm. Five (5) year expansion plan The expansion plan will involve two aspects. The first aspect is to expand and improve the menu of the coffee shop while the second aspect will be with regard to expand the business in terms of market share as well as the geographical area served. Expanding the geographical area served will be both within the state as well as the rest of the nation. Expanding and improving menus An internal head chef will be hired and his job will be to oversee the kitchen activity while at the same time doing more research to see how the menu can be improved in the long run. This will include tryouts of menus to see what the customers want. Every month, there will be a new menu item tried out by the customers and their response and feedback will be take to identify if they have liked it or not. Those that will pass the customers’ rating will be made to be part of the menu. Geographical expansion will involve opening new shops in town, within the state and going across state borders to other states. While Jacob’s Coffee Shop will open new shops to help in expanding, it will also use other methods such as franchising. The business will be franchised to other investors who want to use the model and the brand name. Social media tools Face book and twitter will be used as a way to make sure that the marketing of the business will be feasible and this will help in the growth strategy. Growth cannot be achieved without marketing, and especially advertising. These two social media tools will be used in the strategy to expand the business to further markets. Performance standards The performance benchmarks that will be used for this assignment will be as follows; Measuring quality virus quality Quality and cost are directly related. The first performance standard that will be used by the firm will be to look at how it is able to maintain highest quality possible while at the same time maintaining lowest costs. Quantity versus cost The other thing that will be important for the firm will be to Identify how is cots relate to quality. The more the firm will be able to take advantage of marginal costs, the better for the firm. The use of marginal costs will have to be maintained at all times in order to make sure that there are no cost marginal costs advantages that are evaporated. Potential for overall performance The performance of the firm with regard to the strategies laid is high because of a number of reasons. For instance, the business has a simple model and it will be easier for managers to track changes in strategy and keep it on track. At the same time, the ability of the firms to maintain a good relationship between the cost and quality of its products will be easy since there is a direct relation between each unit product and the raw materials needed to produce them. Marketing communications plan The important tenets of the marketing communication plan for the business will include the following; An easily recognizable logo A mission and vision for the firm A brand motto or slogan that will helps customers recognize an remember what the form does References: Edelstein, E. (2010). Nutrition in Public Health. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Goyan, P., S. K., & Nelms, M. (2011). Food and Culture. New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Riekert, K. (2013). The Handbook of Health Behavior Change, 4th Edition. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Robbins, J. (2011). Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness, and the Future of Life on Earth. New York, NY: H J Kramer. Schlosser, E. (2012). Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Wilson, C., & Schlosser, E. (2012). Chew On This: Everything You Dont Want to Know About Fast Food. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Winkelman, M. (2008). Culture and Health: Applying Medical Anthropology. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Read More