The Glazed Doughnut
is a fictional company that began as a small doughnut shop in Clemson, South Carolina. It has grown over the years and now has locations in Anderson, Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston within South Carolina. Furthermore, our reach extends to Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina in the southeast region of the United States.
The Glazed Doughnut is a doughnut shop offering a variety of plain glazed and fancy doughnuts, such as glazed with sprinkles, chocolate glazed, chocolate with sprinkles, powdered, and powdered with sprinkles. We also serve coffee and other beverages. Our first store opened in 1999 in Clemson, South Carolina. Our goal at The Glazed Doughnut is to be the top doughnut retailer by consistently being in the right place at the right time and providing exceptional quality doughnuts. Our mission statement emphasizes our success in finding excellent locations and making delicious doughnuts.
We are a highly regarded doughnut retailer known for our excellent service and incredible doughnuts. Our stores offer an inviting atmosphere and competitive prices. Our impressive success has prompted us to consider expanding into new markets. Extensive market research has revealed a significant and growing demand for doughnut shops in international markets, particularly in the United Kingdom. By successfully establishing ourselves in these markets, we can not only further boost our profits but also enhance our company’s reputation and brand.
Taking a risk, but executing it well can result in great rewards. Initially, our business began in Clemson SC as a relaxed spot for students to hang out, enjoy donuts, coffee, and other beverages, while studying or unwinding. Upon conducting market research, we discovered that coffee shops in the U.K. also embrace a similar atmosphere. Therefore, by adopting our comparable ambiance, along with our American-style doughnuts and delicious coffee, we are certain that our offerings will thrive in a new location.
For the upcoming portion of the task, we will concentrate on The Glazed Doughnut’s marketing strategy. We will specifically analyze the target audiences for this strategy and their particular needs. These potential audiences include male and female college students, as well as males and females aged 22-29 with regular day jobs. Our research indicates that older adults show less interest in doughnuts compared to younger adults, so our primary focus should be on younger adults.
Our product’s marketing segment, known as Socio-Economic segmentation, encompasses coffee and doughnuts. Coffee has become a crucial component of numerous individuals’ everyday schedules, making it an extremely desirable choice for our target audience. Our customers are drawn to the delicious coffee and doughnuts we provide, along with the welcoming ambiance and outstanding service we deliver. This article will examine the appropriateness of this marketing segment for our product.
The segment focuses on consumer markets, specifically targeting the business class and young adults, including college students. Our marketing efforts are primarily aimed at individuals who work in offices or are studying and looking for a pleasant environment to enjoy a doughnut and a cup of coffee. We have also segmented the market based on geographic and demographic factors by strategically choosing store locations where educated doughnut and coffee enthusiasts can be found.
We have selected these segments as our target markets because they are the most interested in the products and services offered by our doughnut shop. Our experience with these segments is also the most extensive, since we initially started in a college community. Moving forward, we will discuss our target market and the reasoning behind it. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2006), target marketing involves evaluating the overall attractiveness of each market segment and choosing one or more to enter. Our primary target market consists of college students, both males and females aged 18-22. Since our establishment was on a college campus, we aim to continue catering to this demographic. Additionally, our secondary target market is young adults aged 23-29, as they too find our environment appealing. By adding this market segment, we anticipate expanding our customer base and generating more revenue. Subsequently, we will conduct a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) for our company.
Strengths:
– The Glazed Doughnut has a dedicated customer base who are willing to pay premium prices for their glazed doughnut products.
– The company’s stores are strategically located in popular areas frequented by college students and young adults, contributing to its success.
– The leadership team is experienced and has achieved positive results in terms of sales figures and employee satisfaction.
Weaknesses:
– There is limited variety on the menu when it comes to healthier options, as many of the company’s products are high in calories and fat content.
• International differences/preferences: Our coffee products may be more expensive compared to our competitors, making it easy for customers to switch to cheaper alternatives during tough economic times.
• Limited amount of non-snack food items.
Opportunities:
• There is potential for successful international expansion, which could result in significant returns.
• The percentage of U.S. food spending allocated to dining out continues to grow. This trend is driven by a higher number of Americans working, leaving less time for cooking at home.
• Possibility of introducing new products and exploring different distribution channels.
Threats:
• McDonald’s is effectively expanding its Mc Cafe stores worldwide. The renowned fast-food chain not only offers lower prices but also benefits from a globally recognized brand.
The text highlights that there are international differences/preferences regarding the pricing of our coffee products compared to competitors, potentially leading customers to switch to cheaper alternatives during challenging economic periods. Additionally, we have a limited selection of non-snack food items.
However, there are several opportunities we can explore: Firstly, there is potential for successful international expansion with significant returns. Secondly, the growing trend of increased dining out expenditure in the United States presents an opportunity due to more people working and having less time for cooking at home. Lastly, we can consider introducing new products and exploring different distribution channels.
Nevertheless, there are threats we need to address. For instance, McDonald’s effective global expansion strategy with their Mc Cafe stores poses a threat as they offer lower prices and benefit from being a well-known brand internationally.
• Dunkin’ Donuts generates 60% of its total sales from beverages, including coffee. The company is also expanding beyond its traditional northeastern US market.
• Starbucks is known for its highly recognizable brand in the specialty coffee industry and has already made its presence felt in international markets.
• Our next step will be to establish the market position for our product and service and provide the reasoning behind it. Positioning involves creating a product that caters to the needs of our target market and differentiates us from our competitors in the marketplace (Iacobucci, p. 39).
• The Glazed Doughnut has successfully developed a unique market position for our products by avoiding similarity with other existing products. This strategy ensures that consumers have a compelling reason to choose our products over others. By distinguishing ourselves from competing brands, we gain a significant strategic advantage in our desired markets.
Our objective is to become the leading donut retailer by offering the ideal donut at the correct time and place. Initially, our focus was on providing premium donuts at an affordable price (i.e., Good Value) using cost-effective ingredients. Gradually, we broadened our selection to include coffee as a vital element. Our coffee currently distinguishes itself for its exceptional quality, which is why we charge a slightly higher price to set ourselves apart from competitors.
Through the successful creation of a loyal customer base, we have implemented a new pricing strategy for our coffee. Our main goal is to prioritize both customer and employee satisfaction in order to gain an edge over competitors. To guarantee exceptional service from our staff, we enable them to actively participate in decision-making processes that contribute to the company’s overall success.
Our objective, from a Human Resources standpoint, is to recruit individuals who are friendly and take pleasure in their work. This approach ensures that our workplace maintains an enjoyable and lively atmosphere. As for our company’s positioning statement, we aim to convey the message: “Taste Good. Feel Good.” Our objective is to create delicious products that entice customers to make repeat purchases. Additionally, we endeavor to provide exceptional customer service through our dedicated employees and the welcoming ambiance at all of our various locations.
