Introduction
Any business requires well thought plans and strategies on how to market their goods and services irrespective of the age of that business organization. Peter (2011) argued that a proper marketing plan should be developed and tested against the prevailing marketing in order to discover its viability. Robert Mondavi has been the leading vineyard operator in California since 1913. His technical operations and marketing strategies have given him recognition for sale of wines around the world (Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, 2011). The following discussion provides an analysis of Robert’s Woodbridge Wine industry focusing on the current marketing strategies.
Analysis
The product
Product description and benefits
Every year, Robert produces a number of quality wines such as District Wines, Reserve Wines, Napa Valley Wines, and Spotlight Wines. Robert’s Woodbridge Wine is the best wine in town because of its wild red berry and cassis aroma with fresh fruit flavor. Woodbridge’s softness and easy to drink characteristics improves its quality in the market. This wine was founded in 1979 when Robert discovered people needed fine wines for daily enjoyment. The wine is produced using a combination of rich traditions and the state-of-the-art innovation (Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, 2011).
Woodbridge Wine has many advantages compared to other wines. Firstly, it’s a white sweet wine which is the most demanded in California. Most people crave for Woodbridge wine due to its softness, and it does not irritate the throat as many wines do. Secondly, the wine is manufactured by one of the best pioneers in the Wine industry since time immemorial, which makes customers more confident of its quality.
Features industry and market
The current state of the economy has made many large segments of the wine industry to start targeting niche markets by use of innovative branding techniques (Mamula, 2012). Robert uses the most advanced marketing innovations in areas of packaging, advertising and distribution. The high completion within this industry has created room for many niche markets. Most wine consumers are professionals earning huge incomes who demand for high quality wine brands. Robert discovered this and came up with the Woodbridge product that satisfies all consumer needs and makes them desire for more. Success of any business depends on the marketing strategies an organization uses. Analysis of the main crucial areas like market segmentation, targeted consumer, market needs, trends, and industry analysis form the key to a perfect marketing strategy (Kenneth $ Baack, 2011, pp. 11-14).
Demographics
A study conducted in 2011 by Brand Valuation and Strategy Consultancy showed that Robert Mondavi was the third most powerful wind brand in the whole world. The research studies more than ten thousand wines and spirits brands worldwide. Out of the seven U.S. produced wine brands, Robert’s Woodbridge Wine was ranked the best. Moreover, more than 100 independent beverage distributors in U.S. sell Woodbridge Wine. On the other hand, the company’s brand is marketed by almost 200 sales representatives who market them to distributors and large retail outlets.
Pricing Strategies
Price is one of the most crucial features of marketing that every organization must consider. The price of a commodity depends on many factors such as cost of production, cost of distribution, the nature of the product and the targeted market (Moore & Pareek, 2010; Kulkarni, Ravindran & Freeza, 2007). Robert’s Woodbridge Wine has undergone much processing in order to make it the most quality wine in U.S. and one of the most demanded wines globally, but the production department should consider the amount to offer to the market. Robert will consider the following pricing strategy in order to ensure the price of his product falls within the above range. The wine market has also seen a positive growth, which has led to changes in pricing and distribution strategies adopted by wine makers and sellers
The wine industry has attracted many competitors because of the high demand for wine as compared to beer. In order to ensure big sales of the product, Robert could consider penetration pricing. Penetration pricing strategy ensures an organization captures market share by offering low prices for its new product, which in return attracts more buyers and wins the competition (Richards, 2014). Because Robert is known for his quality products, offering lower price than his rivals selling the same brand would move many customers to his shops. In addition, the business will raise awareness and make people try the product. The above strategy may lead to many losses, but the company will use it as a way of advertising their new wine.
Place
Robert’s Woodbridge Wine’s target markets are the educated professional from California. The product can be the best place in retail supermarkets and other retail shops such as wines and spirits. The product can be best displayed with other classic wines or in the front counter, in supermarkets for best exposure to attract more customers. Some marketing factors determine the location of certain products in a sales store. Wine products are best placed in counters because they move very fast. Robert would be at an advantage by securing a counter at the entrance of every supermarket, or mall. In addition, the attractive appearance of a new product itself calls for many buyers to try it before buying their preferred brands.
Promotion
Product promotion ensures every consumer knows about its availability. Promotion of Woodbridge Wine in California will be through advertising. As a means of promoting their new product, the organization should advertise it in the newspapers, magazines, radios, and television. The newspaper would form the most essential method of advertising Woodbridge wine because newspapers have many readers. The market for the product is targeting professionals that spend most of their time in offices and business trips; hence, they come into contact with newspapers more than often. Advertising forms the best practice for a company to promote its product especially to the target group. In addition, product advertising allows some significant contact between customers and the marketer. According to Bangs & David (2011), more sales take place when the amount of time on face-to-face contact is more. It is clear that sales and production efficiency both compete for the resource.
Conclusion
Developing a perfect marketing strategy for a product new in the market is very essential. Managers in the present business environment should be aware of the high competition while making crucial business decisions. Robert being the pioneer in the wine manufacturing industry also faced some challenges, but following the above marketing strategies would see his Woodbridge Wine attract many customers and gain a lot of revenues. From the analysis, the most targeted consumers for Woodbridge wine are the educated professionals. In addition, it was recommended that Robert could use penetrating pricing strategy to price his wine products. Moreover, advertisement through newspapers would form the best promotion strategy for marketing Robert’s Woodbridge Wine.
References
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Kulkarni, U. R., Ravindran, S. & Freeza, R. (2007). “A Knowledge Management Success
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http://smallbusiness.chron.com/different-types-pricing-strategy-4688.html
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