Kudler Fine Foods is a food expert grocery store that aims to advance its efficiency on its overall operations, develop its services and raise its sales due to the latest momentous growth and development. It is critical for the grocery to develop its marketing strategy and tactics in order to grow and gain popularity. This article will justify the need to develop a marketing research to the marketing strategy and tactics of the grocery. It will also feature competitive intelligence and analysis and explain its importance in growth and development in businesses such as Kudler Fine Foods grocery. Finally, it will highlight any extra area of additional marketing research and its importance.
Some of the products sold in a grocery consist of: dairy items, fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, liquors and others. Basic features of a grocery that appeals a customer include: variety of merchandise, self-service, large size, low prices, ample parking and one-stop shopping to enhance growth. The gourmet grocery concept is gaining popularity throughout the world and some of the groceries have adopted methods like low-cost mass distribution (Kudler Fine Foods, 2007).
Market Research
Marketing research can be defined as a form of business study that draws together information and explore facts about markets, customers and competitors. The main functions of marketing research consist of: identifying new markets, creation of new products and services and develop a working business plan. The Kudler Fine Foods used market research to find its main consumers based on age, sex, income and location. Therefore it is clear that Kudler Fine Foods should impress marketing research since it is expanding its business. This will be critical in developing a business plans, identifying its strength and weakness in order to overcome its competitors like small organic and whole foods stores selling same product like Kudler Fine Foods.
Market research justification has increased sales, profit and customer loyalty. Kudler Fine Foods has done several market research on its products and services, pricing, staff, customer behavior and needs and its competitors. This has helped the grocery to determine customer behavior and need, customer base, sufficient modes of advertisement, appropriate price and correct its weakness.
The Frequent opinion study is essential for every business that needs to stay ahead and gain knowledge on what makes them do better. Therefore, Kudler Fine Foods store needs to conduct additional marketing research in order to be informed on the customer’s preference and choice and marketing patterns (Perreault and McCarthy, 2005). There are several areas where Kudler Fine Foods store can find additional information like the Internet, annual reports and trade shows. The importance of additional marketing research was realized when Kudler Fine Foods store made various changes such as: more professional actions, improvement of customer care standards and improved quality of its products. In addition, Kudler Fine Food store realized that they had sections that needed their attention: advertisement and pricing. The modes of advertisement used were not effective and the production and the internal cost were too high (Kudler Fine Foods, 2007).
According to Kudler Fine Foods (2007) various programs had been developed to attract customers, launch new products, monitor competitors, maintaining a strong customer base and increasing sales. These programs need to be researched on before implementing them since they will have great impact on achieving the set goals.
Competitive Intelligence and Analysis
It is also necessary for Kudler Fine Foods to create a competitive intelligence and analysis department in order to maintain their position in the grocery business and always stay ahead of its competitors. Competitive intelligence is researching the grocery environs in order to determine competitors and fine ways to influence its rising marketing strategy and tactic. Since Kudler Fine Foods store is still growing its customer base, the use of competitive intelligence is significant in assessing the marketing strategy and tactics used by its main competitors like small organic and whole food stores (Perreault and McCarthy, 2005).
Some of the processes used in competitive intelligence include collecting, sampling, analyzing and processing of information on competitors, pricing, products and services, customer preference and choice, customer base and area of influence. With the information obtained, Kudler Fine Foods is able to determine its rate of growth, closest competitors, strength and weakness of other groceries and their prices. From the competitor’s analyzed information, Kudler Fine Foods grocery can be able to set up short and long term objectives. Some of the competitor information can be found on the advertisement (print or electronic), web, trade shows, interviewing employees and customers, visits and yearly reports. Therefore, it is necessary to use competitive intelligence and analysis in running a business. The use of four P’s (Placement, Price, Product and Promotion), additional marketing research and competitive intelligence and analysis is very crucial in expanding services, improving operations, increasing sales, establishing a better customer base and raising customer loyalty (Kudler Fine Foods, 2007).
According to Perreault and McCarthy (2005) competitive intelligence is used to predict how a business should use its inventory because most of the groceries store goods that are perishable. This helps in finding the amount needed to avoid wastage or under stocking. Innovation and creativity are the main features of competitive intelligence and analysis, since this is the section that studies competitors’ profiles and finds ways to take it to the next level in staying ahead in retaining the loyalty and winning new customers.
Conclusion
Growth and development, firm customer base, increased sales, customer loyalty, increased profits, improved operations and low production cost are some of the important factors that need to be improved in Kudler in order for it to stay ahead of its competitors. Market research is very critical in identifying areas that need improvement. Kudler Fine foods grocery has conducted several market research and the findings have been used to better the weak areas. Also, Kudler needs to use a skilled marketing team to develop a good marketing strategy and tactic that can improve customer return and product awareness. The use of the modern modes of advertisement such Twitter, Facebook, Twoo and Tagged will ensure significant growth because it is clear that most people use social sites and it is cheap.
It is clear that marketing research helps in developing a good business plan, expanding into new marketplaces, improving the quality of existing products and service and commencing a new product or service. Kudler Fine Foods used additional market research to find the location that experienced highest and lowest sales according to income, sex and age. New marketplaces, new sales cycles and potential customers have been found due to the use additional market research methods.
Reference
Kudler Fine Foods. (2007). Sales and Marketing Overview. Web.
Perreault, W., & McCarthy, E. (2005). Basic Marketing. University of Phoenix New-York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.