Abstract
Promoting businesses through relevant marketing initiatives is a reliable way to expand reach to a target market. As a business to analyze, a service for organizing luxurious picnics is selected. The target audience is young Californians with an above-average income. By defining a development objective, a mission statement, and competitive and market features, the marketing mix is composed. The core development strategy is defined, and individual marketing promotion nuances are listed, including pricing policies, distribution channels, and customer relationship management terms. A comprehensive assessment of new business growth methods allows for planning activities in accordance with current legal regulations and consumer interests.
Introduction
The use of effective marketing strategies plays an important role in promoting products or services and creating sustainable demand. At the same time, organizations cannot rely solely on one specific scheme because the flexibility of market relationships and distinctive customer preferences require optimizing existing tactical decisions. Therefore, drawing up a strategic marketing plan is often one of the key tasks aimed at building relationships with customers, creating a competitive model, and achieving other valuable perspectives. As Marshall and Johnston (2019) argue, a customer-centric approach is a meaningful practice to follow in any development plan. It is also essential to consider the individual characteristics of the goods or services sold. This report presents a particular business from the perspective of promoting it in the context of an appropriate marketing model and the peculiarities of generating interest among the target customer segment.
Product/Service
As a target product to launch, a luxurious picnic business is suggested. This type of activity involves organizing outdoor picnics for large-scale celebrations, for instance, anniversaries, corporate meetings, and other events where many people gather outdoors. In modern realities, when the service industry has advanced significantly due to the formation of numerous ways to interest the audience, such a business can be potentially in demand.
One of the key features of the business in question is the full responsibility of organizers for the quality of the picnic planned. The customer does not need to spend personal time searching for and purchasing products, decorating the area, and other tasks that often take much effort and are not pleasant for everyone. Therefore, launching a business that can help shift responsibility onto the shoulders of skilled employees in the entertainment, culinary, and other fields can be a consumer-friendly and rewarding prospect for performers.
Objectives/Mission Statement
As a mission statement, the following slogan is suggested: “To help people enjoy quality outdoor recreation without the hassle.” Appropriate marketing objectives are designed to help promote the business in the target market and realize the plans set. The following list of these tasks is provided to give an idea of the upcoming activities:
- To ensure brand promotion on at least three popular social media platforms during three months to reach as wide an audience as possible.
- To build partnerships with suppliers and sponsors prior to opening.
- To realize customer loyalty and increase brand awareness among the target audience through special bonus and discount programs organized on special dates.
- To establish a pricing policy during the first months of work, which will create an image of a democratic and affordable brand.
- To enter the list of leaders in the considered market niche during the first year of operation.
Target Market
To build a clear marketing development model, identifying the target market is a critical task. Since the business in question is related to outdoor activities, the relevant motivations of the public should be assessed because, as Aşan and Emeksiz (2018) note, such a desire often correlates with indicators of income and age. Outdoor picnics are a service that young people use more than older ones, and organizing first dates, bachelorette parties, baby showers, and other similar celebrations is more suitable for the youth. As a target audience, young Californians between 20 and 35 are the preferred group. According to the official statistics, it is during this period that men and women in California most often start families, and the planned business is mainly focused on this category of the population (United States Census Bureau, 2020). At the moment, there are about ten million people in this age group living in the state (United States Census Bureau, 2020). However, additional segmentation is needed because luxurious picnic services are not the cheapest. Therefore, young people aged 20 to 35 with an upper middle income are the main target audience.
Competition
The target market includes relatively many participants, which indicates potentially high competition. According to Nehorai (2021), at least six businesses in this area are showing strong success rates and in-demand among residents of Los Angeles, California’s largest city. Among them, the author mentions The Picnic Collective, Wondertent Parties, Santa Monica Picnic Co, LD Picnics, Bliss Beach, and Passion Picnics (Nehorai, 2021). The first of those mentioned are the largest market participants. The sector itself is large, which is confirmed by the number of clients and a variety of design options. Among the trends, one can note particular attention to design details because not only food plays an important role but also related elements, for instance, decorating with flowers, candles, and other holiday attributes. The planned business in question fits into this sector, but much attention should be paid to numerous details to overtake competitors and gain the trust of target customers by retaining them and attracting new ones.
Product/Service Features
One of the main features of the service implemented by the planned business is the coverage of a wide range of events to organize. Many other firms working in this area, as a rule, conduct narrow activities. For instance, they organize exclusively corporate holidays or bachelorette parties. The business in question aims to capture as large a market share as possible by employing specialists from various entertainment and catering industries and giving customers an opportunity to choose from a large number of decoration and menu options. This attention to the product range is unique and can help set a business apart from its competitors.
Since the field of catering in which this business operates is directly related to the trade in food products, the relevant legislative regulations determine the principles of reporting. Being ready to launch, the project has already received a license to work, and the necessary business permits have already been approved. However, from a local law perspective, additional conventions need to be met. As Kapała (2020) notes, in California, all food-related businesses are required to undergo a mandatory health inspection process. Unlike some other states, where the legislation may be more tolerant, local regulations are strict concerning safety compliance. Additional conditions associated with obtaining approval for the sale of alcohol also fall under a separate reporting item (Kapała, 2020). With respect to ethical implications, there are no obvious constraints on the marketing process, and healthy competition is the only barrier.
Core Strategy
When differentiating planned services, it is essential to keep the core strategy in mind in the context of marketing development. According to Marshall and Johnston (2019), service is considered one of the main drivers of a differential approach to business. Given the aforementioned mission statement and marketing objectives, the following position may be appropriate as the core strategy: delivering luxurious picnic services through arranging every detail and giving customers total freedom to choose themes and menus is a valuable approach to meeting the needs of the target market. In the context of service positioning, brand value can be conveyed through such aspects of activity as the number of grateful customers, the impeccable organization of celebrations and holidays, and the organizers’ full responsibility for the success of the event.
Marketing Mix: Communications & Promotion
The analysis of the promotional strategy should be performed through an assessment of the marketing mix, which includes several critical components that determine the business’s success in the selected market sector. The advertising factor is a significant aspect influencing the popularization of services, and as steps to apply, social media promotion is planned to be implemented. This strategy is convenient to ensure the greatest coverage, but there are also some disadvantages to take into account, for instance, the activity of competitors, which can be fraught with provocative comments and negative PR from rivals.
Direct marketing initiatives, designed to interact directly with target customers, are a convenient tool to ensure open communication with consumers. Argüelles et al. (2018) give an example of online mailings, in which the owners of catering firms offer customers catalogs with a wide range of available services. In addition, emails to clients can also be sent to provide timely notification of bonus projects. These interaction methods make it possible to reach the target audience directly, but they also have some disadvantages. For instance, it is difficult to build a client base to interest all consumers without exception, and the time spent on advertising may be unjustified.
Sales promotion procedures are mechanisms to stimulate customer interest in the purchase of specific goods and services. In relation to the business in question, these steps may involve discounts, bonuses, loyalty programs, and other methods to engage the target audience. The value of such practices is the retention of customers and the attraction of new clients. At the same time, additional costs and liability to sponsors can be negative consequences of pursuing these marketing decisions. The formation of public relations, in turn, involves interaction with partners and presence in the chosen market as a participant with specific obligations. New contacts, recognition, and growth in the client base are potential advantages of these relations, but, according to Argüelles et al. (2018), the additional costs of organizing public activities are a negative prospect. Finally, personal selling as a marketing activity designed to interact with each client individually can have many advantages for the business in question. A personal approach to each customer provides positive feedback and, consequently, high-quality advertising. However, the pace of development slows down if the business operates in this way, which, in turn, is undesirable due to market competition.
In the context of the planned marketing campaign, the sales promotion approach seems the most appropriate. Rewards programs and discount offers can help the business attract and retain new customers, thereby enhancing its competitive advantage. Marshall and Johnston (2019) give the example of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and note that these corporations actively use this integrated marketing communication approach. Advertising and personal selling are also potentially valid practices in this context. Regarding public relations and direct marketing mechanisms, these methods are not a priority because the costs mentioned by Argüelles et al. (2018) are highly undesirable at the initial stage of development. As the business matures, more attention may be paid to these approaches as more resources become available, but for now, these decisions are not rational.
As the message to communicate based on the aforementioned core strategy, the business will offer the target market an opportunity to independently choose the concepts of luxurious picnics or leave this right to organizers, thereby choosing the best way to prepare for the upcoming event. This message implies the flexibility of the company and the desire to always meet customer needs. By publishing relevant materials on popular social media, all the conditions will be presented, and at the request of customers, additional options for organizing picnics will be sent to them personally via messages.
One of the ways to measure advertising effectiveness is copy-testing. Torres-Romay (2022) refers to this technique as a basic form of assessing how strong a response is for relevant promotional materials to target audiences. The researcher also mentions such a biometric practice as eye tracking as one of the tools (Torres-Romay, 2022). However, the business in question is new, and it is important to determine the overall consumer impression of advertising before determining reach by impressions.
Marketing Mix: Price
The key pricing objective to realize as part of marketing promotion is profit maximization. According to Indounas (2018), this perspective is the basis of any business, regardless of which concept it adheres to, whether it is classical economic theory or more modern industrial organization theory. The latter concept is preferred because, as Budzinski and Kuchinke (2018) argue, in addition to capital accumulation, the objectives of increasing market concentration and overcoming competition are crucial to realize. The value proposition should be based on unique service and better terms than those offered by rival firms, and a democratic pricing policy should be maintained for successful positioning and attracting as many target customers as possible.
Marketing Mix: Channels of Distribution
As a distribution channel, an indirect approach is chosen because the products used by the business in question are not supplied directly by the manufacturer. In this regard, the system of intermediaries is relevant, which includes agent intermediaries acting exclusively as partners but not direct producers of specific goods (Petković & Užar, 2020). This strategy is convenient and justified in the context of the variety of luxurious picnics scenarios.
Marketing Mix: Customer Relationship Management
To establish a customer relationship management (CRM) algorithm, an appropriate information processing strategy should be chosen. For the business in question, several important criteria are relevant, which Marshall and Johnston (2019) mention, namely customer satisfaction, loyalty, and lifetime value. Data on the number of clients need to be collected in separate databases, and the role of technology in this process is significant. Special digital applications can help make forecasts regarding the demand for the business’s services and identify problematic CRM areas.
Conclusion
The considered luxurious picnic business has been analyzed from the perspective of utilizing appropriate marketing initiatives. Relevant objectives and development strategies have been identified, as well as ethical and legal implications, and the overall marketing mix has been formulated, which makes it possible to determine a promotion plan for the near future. The pricing policy, interaction with the target audience, channels of distribution, and other components of this plan contribute to forming a specific market development model to achieve a confident competitive advantage, enhanced through effective customer relationship management approaches.
References
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