The product selected for the purpose of this assignment is coffee. The basis for selecting this beverage product was as a result of some factors examined in the product market. To begin with, a needs analysis carried out demonstrated that in the recent times there has been an increasing demand of coffee by people. This can possibly be attributed to the swelling number of coffee shops in cities and towns. Secondly, a close scrutiny of the processes involved in the roasting and blending of coffee revealed that the costs associated are quite minimal as compared to other beverages. Hence, due to the lower costs involved it was prudent to select the product due to its cost minimization ability. Lastly, the product is readily available and thus this ensures cheaper and quick acquisition of raw materials to the manufacturer (Hammond & Hammond, 2011). The product received a warm reception from the customers in the stores. The development of the product was performed following a series of processes to enhance maximum value addition to this product. Thus, the positive reaction from the customers can be ascribed with the improved value of this product which was definitely the desire of a majority of the customers.
The product boasts with a variety of features which are all directed at enhancing customer satisfaction which is also focused on boosting the levels of client retention for the product. The paramount feature of the product is improved coffee quality and taste. This is achieved through the various processing stages involved in the product development. Another important feature of this product is reliable customer service to our esteemed clients. The product seeks to ensure that it retains as many customers as possible and hence proper service to the clients is inevitable. The third feature of this product is having a rich and tasty aroma which is the definition of high quality coffee. It has been proven that most customers prefer their coffee to have a strong aroma which is also accompanied by a rich taste. In addition, the brand provides the freshest coffee that customers wish to take. This is accomplished by ensuring a continuous process in the value chain of the product by incorporating the product suppliers and distributors. Lastly, the product also has the feature of proper packaging. Customers can acquire their preferred quantity of coffee by offering them with a variety of coffee packs which range from 1 cup up to 2 Kilograms. The packaging is also conducted using high quality materials made of Aluminum foil which preserves coffee best.
The display of the product in the store was performed well to ensure that the product would be more appealing to the customers (Hammond & Hammond, 2011). The product was put on display in the beverages section of the store. This would ensure easy accessibility of the product by the customers since coffee is also a beverage. The display was physically done according to the sizes of the coffee packs and thus this created a sequence which would appeal the customers' eyes. The product display was also enhanced by adding some posters with the product brands so as to enlighten the customers on the variety of brands available in the store. Finally, to make it certain that the product display would be effective in luring customers, a person was employed to give any assistance that customers would require concerning the product. The employee would also be required to wear on an apron which has been branded with the coffee brands available in the store. Thus, in this way clients would easily spot the product in the display. The process of merchandising the product was allocated to a specific person who would be held responsible for the product.
The product required proper visual merchandising so as to enhance its display as well as improving on the ease of being spotted by the customers. This involved a series of activities that would be constantly maintained by the Merchandiser. To begin with, the product required excellent store layouts. There was also the need to adopt the best merchandising style for this particular product. Lastly, merchandising was also characterized by high quality signage and graphics for the product so as to improve communication with the customer. To ensure that the product fits well into the store’s brand there were some changes made in the brand name of the product. This was to familiarize the product to the store and hence improve the customer’s trust on the product. This would also help to increase the volume of sales for this product. It was resolved that the product would be called “Aroma Coffee” since the store’s name is Aromart. This was thought to be the right name since it demonstrated some relationship of the product to the store as well as the nature of the coffee with regards to its feature of a rich aroma. Thus, despite the product being a new entrant in the store it was effectively streamlined to fit appropriately in the store.
The store’s brand of coffee is quite unique as compared to other brands of coffee in the market. The foremost distinguishing value of the product is the rich aroma which most of the other brands lack. However, this brand has both instant coffee and roasted coffee types which are demanded by the customers. Other brands in the market also have the two types of coffee. There is an existing relationship between the product and the brand. As stated earlier the brand name of this coffee product is “Aroma Coffee”. In general terms the brand name helps to convey the value of this product having a great rich aroma which satisfies the customers' needs. Hence, the brand name influences the likelihood of customers to purchase the product (Magrab & Magrab, 2010).
This is due to the fact that the majority of customers upholds the notion that good coffee must possess a refreshing aroma. Therefore, this brand also exhibits some influence in the level of sales achieved by the store. The store brand also offers other products under the brand name. For instance, the brand also offers products such as sugar, flour and tea leaves. However, these overall brands are managed quite differently from the products. This is due to the various processes of value addition that have to be performed on the brand so as to increase its marketability in the store. This can be revealed by the predetermined process involved to ensure enhanced visual merchandising of the brand in the store. In addition, the brand is processed to provide two varieties of that product which are instant coffee and roasted coffee. This is yet another evidence of how the brand is managed differently so as to suit the customer’s product needs.
References
Hammond, J., & Hammond, J. (2011). Branding your business: Promote your business, attract customers, build your brand through the power of emotion: Kogan Page.
Magrab, E. B., & Magrab, E. B. (2010). Integrated product and process design and development: The product recognition process. Florida: CRC Press.
