Promotional Plan
The promotional strategies for the milk powder will focus on parents in big cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and big supermarkets in China like Wal-Mart supercenter, Metro, and Watsons Supermarkets. Such big cities are densely populated; thus, offering a large market for the milk powder to sell and produce significant revenues (Wolf et al., 2011). Besides, the Chinese people leaving in the big cities have better spending power compared to those in rural areas because they have more income and different lifestyles. The selected big cities lie in the coastal regions of China and they are associated with high income and population; hence, service as the best target market for Gerber milk powder from United States of America.
The most common sales modes for imported food products like milk powder from the United States to China are franchise stores, dealer modes, and supermarkets. The main supermarkets in China serve as the major distribution channels for the foreign food products since most of them do not sell many food products as expected (Wolf et al., 2011). Therefore, Gerber should focus on the big supermarkets in China as their potential distributors of the product since most of the supermarkets strive to create links with foreign food producers directly to cut the costs involved.
Another promotional strategy that can be adopted by Gerber is rigorous advertising. The advertisements can be done on Television using the Chinese celebrity models such as actress Fan Bingbing, singers Jay Chou or Andy Lau. With such celebrities, advertising the milk powder in the Television will help the product to sell in the lucrative markets in China because of the influence and followers that such celebrities have. The company can also focus on sponsoring the main television shows in China, such as James Mclntosh television programs that focus on the promotion of food products. Such a promotional strategy can be very effective because it will capture the attention of all the potential consumers of the product in the big cities of China (Pasco & Le Ster-Beaumevieille, 2007).
Apart from using the television shows as advertising strategies, the company can develop a good slogan to represent the product in the entire Chinese market. The Chinese people are very sensitive about the identity of any product; thus, creating a good slogan for the product will develop the reputation of the product in the people’s minds (Pasco & Le Ster-Beaumevieille, 2007). The slogan can be customized to incorporate the Chinese culture to ensure that the Chinese people can identify with the product. The use of agents or local sellers in the Chinese markets as the channels of distribution may serve as a good promotional strategy. The Chinese people are very conservative and reluctant from buying foreign goods; hence, distributing Gerber using the local agents will help in penetrating the Chinese market.
The provision of small gifts, such as feeder bottle to the parents who buy the milk powder can be a good incentive for them to develop customer loyalty. They will build the relationship between the producer and the Chinese consumers leading to increased sales (Pasco & Le Ster-Beaumevieille, 2007). Upon entering the big cities of China using the major supermarkets distribution channels, Gerber can also consider entering the small cities. Such markets can be entered using the retail stalls in the shopping malls to market the product and create close interaction between the retail store and the customers. Through the close interaction, the retail stores will be able to get customer feedback about the product and communicate it to the producers for the necessary adjustments or advancements.
Distribution Plan
The Chinese customs are based on a valuation database that lists the values of the imports based on the international market prices, foreign market prices, and domestic prices. It shows that the customs paid for any exports to China are clearly outlined in the customs regulation developed by the General Administration of the Customs People's Republic of China. On the other hand, any products entering China from foreign producers should comply with the domestic legislations for them to be authorized into the Chinese market. Some of the domestic legislations required are the certificates of quality, quantity, and the weight issued by the manufacturer, especially for the food products, such as the milk powder, which are quite sensitive to the health of the people. The Chinese customs authorities are very strict to the extent that goods that do not conform to the certificates after re-inspection are returned to the suppliers (Wolf et al., 2011).
The milk powder can be transported to the warehouses through the various means of transportation available in the Chinese markets, such as rail transport, highways or roads transport. The company should be very sensitive in choosing the means of transport for the product. On the other hand, the product needs protection from getting contaminated when it arrives in China market or the warehouse. It should be transported in protective containers and handled with care once it reaches the target market. The selected distributors, such as major supermarkets in the big cities and the retail agents in the small cities should take up the responsibility of ensuring that Gerber is free from spoilage or damage through all means (Wolf et al., 2011).
References
Pasco, C., & Le Ster-Beaumevieille, H. (2007). Marketing international. Paris: Dunod.
Wolf, C., Chow, B., & Jones, G. (2011). China's expanding role in global mergers and acquisitions markets. Santa Monica: RAND Corp.
