Introduction.
Goument to go is a blend of planning of menus and delivery of groceries with a complete recipe. The product targets two-income professionals who find it hard to prepare meals despite their high levels of income. With Goument to go, a customer gets a delivery of a whole week’s consumption with clear labels on storage and refrigeration to avoid waste. The idea was developed by Jan Jones after she realized that many people find it hard to go and fetch for food after work. She found it convenient to deliver food to doorsteps. The aim was to serve a larger part of the population who end up having unbalanced or junk foods due to lack of options.
Nature of the product and its characteristics?
Goument to go is a fresh idea in grocery marketing. It is a form of menu planning designed to fit youth and working class. These groups of individuals do not have time to think on recipes or even go to vegetable vendors and distributors. The product is a substitute for quick foods like pizza which are considered unhealthy due to their fat content. The pack consists of a week’s meal that is a complete pack of recipes and cuisine combined with a menu plan. With this pack, a customer can cook fast meals without having to think on recipes and ingredients. With Goument to go, customers are given options on choice of meals. This is derived from the menu list that is available in weekly and monthly options. Orders are processed on customers advice, meat is wrapped, all ingredients labeled, and groceries sorted according to refrigeration requirements. This enhances a minimization of customer’s tasks and a short duration of making the food. The package also contains nutritional components of groceries and their preparation and cooking instructions.
Nature of the competitive environment.
Goument to go does not have a high rate of competition since the industry is not overpopulated. Tulsa county has 660 groceries, and among these only two stores offer delivery services. Their services are priced at a fixed cost with no consideration of the size of orders. This means that customers ordering for small services end up paying more compared to those with bigger orders (eHow).
The leading competitors of the product are fast food restaurants and grocery stores with such services as delivery. The product bears a competitive advantage over the competitors in that, despite the fact that they offer delivery services, none of them include features such as recipes and cooking procedures. This means that customers who do not have time still find it hard to manage. Fast food restaurants like pizza chains have delivery services but at extremely high cost. This means that most customers still search for better offers, which Goument to go, is ready to offer. With these resources, the product is best positioned to compete in the industry.
With the outlined marketing and financial strategy, Goument to go, has an established competitive power over the competitors. The product’s financial strategy involves a high capital turnover which acts as a barrier to new entrants and a threat to the existing stores. Goument to go has established its own distributors in the provision of high quality and fresh produce. This is a guarantee to customers that they get nothing less of fresh product. The business intends to practice monopoly in that it intends to offer premium brands (MyNetworkOneHQ). This is in contrary to the other competitors who have various brands, which customers choose from. The monopolistic power of the business is a tool to strengthen its competing power.
Market strategy in terms of sufficiency.
Achieving an annual sales target of $65000, requires aggressiveness I terms of marketing the new product. This is in consideration that customers need awareness of the product and the costs relating to this. To market a new product, the target population has to be predetermined. The Goument to go has an established target of working class individuals. The marketing strategy involves an intense campaign to market the product by use of newspaper, internet, radio, mails and brochures (edokeefe 12).
Considering that this is a new product the strategy might not be sufficient. The use of the internet and radio may work for the working class. This, however, may be limited on the regularity of the appearance of the adverts. Some people may be exceedingly busy such that accessing the internet while working may be difficult. In addition, it would be costly to advertise the product in all company’s pages to access these people. A better solution may be the use of brochures. However, there is no guarantee that all customers will read the details of the brochures. The business should implement the use of social sites like Twitter and Face book, which may guarantee a better turnover of the customers. Such sites are better situated in terms of campaigns, information flow and customers needs derived from comments (Midgley, 2010).
Anticipated problems with the product and how these problems could be minimized.
The product is faced with a challenge of meeting the expectations of the customers. This is in the effort of trying to shift their focus on the already established markets and making them understand the new product. Many customers are used to getting ready food from restaurants, but in this case they have to prepare the meals themselves. This might not cover the customers’ expectations. This issue can be solved on intensive market research on how to develop the product. The product should be designed to meet the customers benefit.
Pricing may also be a future challenge on this business. The business has set its prices at a lower rate than its competitors. Depending on demand and intended improvement in design the future may demand a price change. It would mean that some customers may opt for the cheaper options. To cater for this challenge, the business should have hybrids of the product but still have the original product operating with the same price.
The business seems to concentrate much on sales and compromising on development. In the short run, profits may be realized (Ryans, 2009). This though may only last for a short time since customers are flexible and keep switching for new products in the market. This challenge can only be limited by having close substitutes to Goument to go product. This will serve to fulfill the consumers demand, tastes and preferences. The solution also enhances the growth of the business.
Conclusion
The introduction of Goument to go in the market requires an intensive market research to determine the target population, pricing factors and expected profits. The strategy set for competition, should be focused on how the business should conduct its operation, make profits and gain a competitive power. This is determined by pricing, level of customer satisfaction and expected growth of a business. An upcoming business has to implement strong policies and measures to avoid cases of loss in business focus. It is customary for a business to run at a loss during the introduction stages, but it is upon the management of the business to structure policies on how to improve on the performance.
Reference.
Ryans, A. (2009). Beating Low Cost Competition: How Premium Brands can Respond to Cut-Price Rivals. John Wiley & Sons: New York.
edokeefe 12. How To Market Your Product. Work Cited,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCWoMxFUy4w
Midgley, D. (2010). Innovation and New Product Marketing. Taylor & Francis: Denmark.
MyNetworkOneHQ. Having Trouble Reaching Your Target Market? Work Cited,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6FSEaCwiy4
Urban, G & Hauser, J. (2009). Design marketing of new products. Prentice Hall: New York.
eHow. Marketing Strategies: Marketing a New Product. Work Cited,
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbfz5qkJBMA>
