Marketing Strategy
The presence of highly competitive products in the modern business environment compels many organizations to develop and implement apt marketing plans. The Chipotle Restaurant will adopt a marketing strategy that will seize the interests of many consumers in accepting its new cuisine. The restaurant will target the high-income earners in the neighborhood where it is likely to make considerable sales of the product. It will position its product strategically to make it recognizable. This situation guarantees the restaurant more sales that will result in more profits. In this manner, the restaurant will gain popularity in the market. The successful implementation of the marketing plan will be based on sound leadership and management strategies that will be upheld in the restaurant. The development of the strategy will take into account various factors that will differentiate it from the ordinary marketing strategies used in most restaurants. The primary market strategies of the Chipotle Restaurant will include the following.
- Customers awareness of health issues
- Developing a consumer base to create a ready market
- Creation of customer loyalty and referrals
- Retention of the existing customers
Along these lines, the company will control the market since there will be an increased probability of acquiring the largest market share.
Value Proposition
The Chipotle Restaurant aims at providing the product to the market with a view of delivering a plethora of benefits to the customers. The dessert offered by the company seeks to give the customers direct savings on cost by adopting reasonable pricing strategies. In addition, the company is also geared towards ensuring the healthy living of its diverse customers by maintaining a reputable product that will offer the best nutritional value.
Differentiation and Positioning
The Chipotle Restaurant strives to deliver fresh products to its consumers. Knight (2012) posits that this plan creates customer satisfaction whilst upholding a high value for the products provided by the restaurant. The restaurant will ensure product differentiation by offering the customers a superior product that will be affordable. This situation will attract the attention of the customers since due to the perception that they will be attached to the brand. In addition, the services offered together with the product should match its high position. For the Chipotle restaurant menu to attract the customers, convenience product and service delivery will be paramount.
The proposed dessert must meet the high-value sought by the customers. This plan will assure the restaurant of an increased competitive advantage over its rivals. Therefore, the customers will choose the Chipotle’s dessert owing to its value-added sense of quality. Furthermore, the restaurant’s staff should offer professional services to complement the high-quality product. The Chipotle Restaurant should also design an attractive menu that will win the heart of the customers to taste the new product. For instance, during the launch of the product, the Chipotle Restaurant will provide tests and quizzes to the customers with a view of rewarding the winners with the product.
The product will come in a variety of ingredients to win the consumer’s taste. The staff will strive to provide the best nutritional value that customers will derive from the dessert. This arrangement will allow them identify their nutritional needs that will lead to preferring the product. Furthermore, the personnel will also be expected to propose the most suitable dessert that will match the needs of the customers. For instance, if the main meal is beef, the staff can help the client identify a dessert that supplements it. Such information will position the restaurant strategically thereby making it the choice of most customers. According to Glanz et al. (2007), this strategy will earn the restaurant a competitive advantage that most rival firms will find hard to break.
Overall Product Strategy
The product will be sold to the consumers on a daily basis. Besides, the restaurant is planning to establish various ‘outside catering’ plan deliver the products to customers who will lack the time to reach the restaurant. This strategy will not only increase the restaurant’s average sales but also ensure the delivery of value-added services to the customers. The provision of the three choices will create a strong brand image for the product. The approach seeks to ensure a measurable improvement of the market’s existing products by setting competitive prices (Glanz et al., 2007). The Chipotle Restaurant’s dessert menu will include the following foods.
- Banana chocolate chip cookies
- Low-fat pumpkin cake roll
- Peanut butter cup cheesecake
- Blueberry Walmart bars
Pricing Explanation and Rationale
The dessert will be sold at affordable prices that will target a particular group of customers including the middle and high-income earners. The pricing strategy will be designed to satisfy the customers who are expected to associate the quality of the product with its value. The dessert features in the market as a Veblen good whose demand will increase with the elevating prices. In this case, the market segment will target both the medium and high-income earners who spend heavily on high-class cuisines. Therefore, the Chipotle Restaurant is expected to gain a considerable amount of sales. Moreover, the pudding will be promoted by ensuring that it has unique features that are not offered in other restaurants. In addition, it will have an exclusive pricing strategy. For instance, during particular periods of the year, the restaurant will offer reduced prices to its first ten customers weekly. The plan is projected to boost the overall sales of the restaurant, especially during the low seasons.
Placement and Product Distribution Strategy
The dessert menu will comprise a variety of puddings that will be sold in the restaurant. It will strive to provide quality services to all its customers irrespective of the location and/or time difference. The restaurant will be open between 6 a.m. to midnight from Monday to Friday. During the weekend and public holidays, it will be in operation from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. This strategy will ensure a sustained supply of the desserts to the market. Customers can dine in the restaurant or ‘take way’ the product. Creating time and delivering the foodstuff on the time will generate trust among the customers. Referrals contacted by the loyal repeat customers are perceived to have a significant impact on the firm’s profitability (Knight, 2004).
Promotional Tools
The Chipotle Restaurant will apply three important tools in the promotional strategy of the product. According to Anderson (2012), various tools that are used for product promotion include advertising, sales campaigns, and public relations. The restaurant will use the methods to make the product known to its customers. The following aims will guide the accomplishment of the restaurant’s goals.
- To inform the customers of the availability of the product
- To persuade them to make purchases
- To remind them of the amazing product
- To make follow-ups to retain the existing customers
The premise of applying the promotional tools is that the Chipotle Restaurant’s management understands its target market. This stand will guide the development of the menu prices. Since the Chipotle is an upscale restaurant, a higher-priced menu will not likely discourage the customers from purchasing the emerging dessert. The class of the target consumers is enticed by products that are priced higher due to the tendency to maintain their esteemed status (Anderson, 2012).
Advertising
Advertisement of the product will be prioritized since it will complement the promotional the aforementioned strategies. The advertisement of the food product will be accomplished by adopting various techniques to ensure that it reaches a broad consumer base. At the outset, the Chipotle Restaurant will use television commercials to advertise the dessert. This approach will entail the development of various foodie photos that will be broadcast on the television. This state of affairs will elevate the awareness of the product amongst the customers. Television commercials are very effective because of the utilization of both audios and visual components. Local newspapers and flyers will also be useful in the advertisement of the product. They will serve to remind the customers about the product. The most efficient way of promoting restaurant through advertisement will entail the designing and posting of high-quality photos of the distinguished cuisine. Anderson (2012) affirms that the visual content regarding any product is paramount to the realization of increased sales, especially in the digital era.
To remain inundated in the competitive food retail industry, the Chipotle Restaurant will also design a website where the restaurants menus, principles, philosophy, and contact information will be posted. This undertaking will allow the restaurant receive complaints and compliments from the customers who will have tested the product. Social media presence is almost an inescapable requirement in the business industry today. The Chipotle Restaurant will initiate a brand awareness campaign that will heighten the reinforcement of customer trust and loyalty (Cohen, 2006). The restaurant is perceived to gain significant credits through the social media presence. It will ensure fulltime online presence by hiring a social media manager to maintain a constant interaction with the public concerning the restaurant’s cuisines.
Sales Promotion
The Chipotle Restaurant will conduct various sales promotion campaigns. Cohen (2006) posits that the production of newsletters provides the necessary platform to engage the customers in a more detailed sales aspect. The restaurant will adopt this strategy as a first step towards the promotion of the dessert’s sales. The features and promotions will be supplied in the newsletter. It will also produce a newsletter with information on the variety of products offered in the restaurant. In this case, coupons and special offers will also be designed to be included in such newsletters. For instance, promotional techniques based on discounts can be used to stimulate sales in the restaurant. In addition, the restaurant’s sales department will fully engage loyalty programs. For instance, the strategy will include collaborating with various online cuisine apps that will form a significant part of the marketing plan (Cohen, 2006).
Public Relations
The Chipotle Restaurant will also come up with a customer care department to provide respond to any inquiries that will arise. This department will be charged with handling the client’s complaints and dissatisfaction. According to Murray (2013), a community identifies with a company that recognizes it. The Chipotle Restaurant will engage itself with various community events such as fundraising and tree planting. During such activities, the company product will be promoted through direct sales campaigns. Roadshow exhibitions and donations will also provide a suitable platform for the product promotion. Such activities outside the facility will determine the public perception of the enterprise. According to Murray (2013), aspects about public relations have a significant contribution to the overall business success. As a result, managers should relate well to the public.
Budget Estimates
The following table represents a two-year forecast of the cash flow of the Chipotle Restaurant that is derived from the sales of the dessert.
Year I
Dessert Type
- Price (In Dollars) Expenses Cost
- Banana chocolate chip cookies 300 production 24,000,000
- Low fat pumpkin cake roll
- 180 advertising 2,000,000
- Peanut butter cup cheesecake 120 distribution 500,000
- Blueberry Walmart bars
- 200
- Total production 300,000 pieces
- Total cost of production 24,000,000
- Average net sale price 200
- Total net sales 60,000,000
- Total expenses
- 26,500,000
- Profit 33,500,000
Year II
Dessert type
- price (in dollars) expenses cost
- Banana chocolate chip cookies 350 production 30,000,000
- Low fat pumpkin cake roll
- 160 advertising 1,600,000
- Peanut butter cup cheesecake 200 distribution 800,000
- Blueberry Walmart bars
- 250
- Total production 400,000 pieces
- Total cost of production 30,000,000
- Average net sale price 240
- Total net sales 96,000,000
- Total expenses
- 32,400,000
- Profit 63,600,000
The venture is viable owing to the perceived profits that will arise from the implementation of the marketing strategy. The Chipotle Restaurant should seize the opportunity to increase its market share in the food retail industry. It is also recommended that the restaurant should open more chain stores to increase its profitability.
Reference List
Anderson, D. (2012). Strategic marketing planning for the small to medium-sized Business writing a marketing plan. New York, NY: Business Expert Press.
Cohen, W. (2006). The marketing plan. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons.
Glanz, K., Resnicow, K., Seymour, J., Hoy, K., Stewart, H., Lyons, M.,…Goldberg, J. (2007). How major restaurant chains plan their menus: the role of profit, demand, and health. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(5), 383-388.
Knight, P. (2004). The highly effective marketing plan. London: Prentice Hall.
Murray, K. (2013). The retail value proposition crafting unique experiences at Compelling prices. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.