The instant segment of the marketing plan relates to how to roll out the product into the market with the intent of building a lovable brand and a likable company. The steps involved include coming up with a price for the service that will guarantee positive entry into the market, reflects the value of the product, and will make the company profitable. How the product will be marketed to the targeted primary and secondary customers will also be canvassed herein. Finally, an effective corporate social responsibility strategy to promote the company’s likeability will also be canvassed. By the end of this assignment, Pinkberry will be ready to roll out its services to the targeted market.
Feedback
The feedback from Part B was generally positive and supportive of Pinkberry’s strategy. The feedback showed that the areas that were flagged for adjustment in Part A had been properly adjusted and also that the additions in Part B were proper and geared toward the company’s success. Based on the positive impact, the instant segment will build on the criterion and strategy within Part B I order to augment the successful trend realized therein.
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Pricing and Distribution Strategy
Pricing is one of the most important aspects of the marketing of a product and may be the basis for the success or failure of a venture. Pricing is a determinant of whether the customers can afford the services and, therefore, will be able to buy them. Pricing also determines the profit margins, i.e. whether sales will result in profit (Hinterhuber & Liozu, 2017). Finally, the price of a product determines the value that the customers will place on it and also whether they feel that they have gotten value for their money. Pinkberry will be offering a variety of service-based products, some of which are tangible, such as nail-art, and others of which are intangible, such as massages. The primary marketing strategy of the company is that it provides the highest quality of services possible for the most sophisticated of customers. These customers also happen to fall within the top segments of the social divide and thus can afford relatively high prices. The pricing strategy will, therefore, be based on premium pricing, where the high-quality value will be augmented by the high-price value (Hinterhuber & Liozu, 2017).
With regard to distribution, Pinkberry offers only services and no commodities meaning that every point of sale will include a direct interaction between an employee of the company and the customers (Lund & Marinova, 2014). The primary point of distribution will be the main beauty parlor, to be situated within downtown Venice, California. Access and services at the parlor will be available only during pre-arranged appointments for the customers. The pre-arrangement system will ensure that the customers will get premium services from specific employees who will have taken the time to prepare for every customer. The Venice parlor will be the pilot center and will be closely followed by a collection of centers all along the West Coast and as far up as Alaska. Over and above the fixed points of sale at the parlor will be two forms of off-site distribution. The first will be a mobile unit in the form of a specialized bus that will offer the same services that are available in the beauty parlors at localized positions. Finally, there will be the home or office services where customers can be served in locations of their choosing, subject to expediency.
Integrated Marketing Communications Plan
The integrated marketing communication plan amplifies the message surrounding a product by focusing it on specific talking points (Luxton, Reid & Mavondo, 2015). The talking points for Pinkberry will be predicated on the tripartite theme of quality, value, and convenience. The message will be coordinated and replicated throughout the marketing campaign.
Message Strategy
The message strategy for marketing Pinkberry will be based on the concept of product positioning. Product positioning entails a coordinated effort to convince the targeted customers that the product being advertised is to be preferred over and above whatever else is available in the market. The brand positioning for Pinkberry will be predicated on quality, value, and convenience. The idea will be to convince the target customer that there may be other similar services in the market, but Pinkberry is the most suitable for them (Luxton, Reid & Mavondo, 2015).
Media Strategy
Pinkberry media strategy will align itself with the AIDA concept of attention, interest, desire, and action (Hassan, Nadzim & Shiratuddin, 2015). The media strategy will begin with a massive all-out campaign to get the attention of the target customers. For at least 7 days, a combination of online and traditional advertising will capture the attention of the whole of Venice, California, and surrounding areas. Media options that will be used include weekly magazines, TV, Radio, billboards, and social media. Human advertisers with fliers and branded attires will also be placed in strategic corners of the city. Those whose attention will be captured by the adverts will be intrigued by the information that will accompany the advert thus generating interest. The desire aspect will be accomplished through one on one advertising undertaken online and offline by marketers who will visit target customers (Hassan, Nadzim & Shiratuddin, 2015). They will also have catalogs and the ability to book appointments thus making for the action part.
Public Relations, Sales Promotions and Personal Selling Plan
Premium pricing service customers aim to stand out from the crowd by going for the best products because they feel that they deserve the best and can afford it. This is the basis on which the media strategy is personalized (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016). The public relations strategy will also utilize the same approach. The targeted customers will be made to believe that the marketers left Pinkberry specifically to come and meet them because Pinkberry was created for customers such as them. Marketing research will establish specific upper class and upper middle class customers, then prepare gift vouchers designed specifically for them. The vouchers will then be hand-delivered by marketers who will speak to the customers directly about available services where possible. These marketers will be authorized to book appointments and even offer discounts as and when necessary (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016). The customer will thus feel like a part of Pinkberry, even before they ever visit a Pinkberry site. Sales promotions will include the aforementioned discounts to target customers and other offers such as vouchers. In affluent neighborhoods, the mobile service buses will offer an initial day of free services to acquaint the customers with the company’s services. Random and unpredictable offers will also be included, such as a discount for every hundredth customer. In the more personalized services, such as nail-art and massages, personal selling will be utilized, where every employee will be encouraged to gain loyal customers who are handled specifically by that employee on or off-site (Lund & Marinova, 2014).
Online and Direct Marketing Plan
Being a service-based organization, the online activities will be limited to sensitization and other marketing purposes and also the booking of appointments (Lund & Marinova, 2014). Almost all online marketing activities will be interactive in nature, where the customers or target customers will be communicating directly with an individual within Pinkberry. This direct communication furthers the concept of valuing the customer. Online marketing will thus form a part of the direct marketing aspect of the marketing plan.
Over and above the online marketing segment, Pinkberry marketers will visit places where the target customers are anticipated to be, with a view to directly market to them. For example, in high-end tournaments such as horse racing, golf, or polo tournament, the mobile unit alongside direct marketers will be on site to convince those in attendance to procure the company’s services. In these events, services can be availed on-site or appointments scheduled for future services. The same will be expanded to high-end office blocks and neighborhoods. Pinkberry will go looking for the right customers, as opposed to making blanket adverts and waiting for the customers to come looking for Pinkberry (Wirtz & Lovelock, 2016).
Social Responsibility/Cause-Related Marketing Plan
Corporate social responsibility provides an opportunity for any company to play the role of a good social citizen but it can also be used as a very effective and economical marketing tool (Kotler & Maon, 2016). Through CRS, a company can increase its visibility and brand power to the targeted market while simultaneously earning tax-credits for supporting positive causes. It is important to state that the high quality of services offered by Pinkberry coupled with the premium tools and materials used is part of company’s social responsibility, as it minimizes the adverse effects on health and the environment caused by cheaper products. Pinkberry can organize well-publicized charitable events for the aforementioned groups of people targeted at making them look and feel beautiful. For example, a beauty day can be organized in a hospice for terminal cancer patients where they would get their hair, faces, and nails done then participate in activities such as photo shoots or fashion shows. Publicity for such events and also their newsworthiness will be an effective marketing tool, while at the same time Pinkberry will be part of giving hope and joy to the less fortunate and their loved ones (Kotler & Maon, 2016). The affluent, who happen to be the target market for the company, love to be a part of such events, which will endear Pinkberry to them. Planning for such events will also grant Pinkberry marketers easier access to the richest segments of the target population, as they will be marketing charitable events on top of the best beauty and allied services available.
In conclusion, the idea that Pinkberry was, at the beginning has gradually materialized into a business concept and finally to a product that can be offered to the targeted customers. However, many good business ideas and even products can fail unless they are properly marketed. As reflected above, an elaborate marketing strategy has been developed for Pinkberry, based on the specific attributes of the product. For a start, the company will use premium pricing and a distribution strategy based in customer-convenience. Further, Pinkberry is not introducing a novel idea to the customers but rather entering a very competitive market niche. The marketing strategy is based on seeking to convince the customer that what Pinkberry offers is superior to whatever the competition has to offer. Pinkberry will not open its doors and await the customer but will rather move out and seek out for the preferred customers beginning with Venice and moving up and down the western coast.
References
Hassan, S., Nadzim, S. Z. A., & Shiratuddin, N. (2015). Strategic use of social media for small business based on the AIDA model. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences , 172 , 262-269.
Hinterhuber, A., & Liozu, S. M. (2017). Is innovation in pricing your next source of competitive advantage? In Innovation in Pricing (pp. 11-27). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Kotler, P., & Maon, F. (2016). A stakeholder approach to corporate social responsibility: Pressures, conflicts, and reconciliation . New York: Routledge.
Lund, D. J., & Marinova, D. (2014). Managing revenue across retail channels: The interplay of service performance and direct marketing. Journal of Marketing , 78 (5), 99-118.
Luxton, S., Reid, M., & Mavondo, F. (2015). Integrated marketing communication capability and brand performance. Journal of Advertising , 44 (1), 37-46.
Todorova, G. (2015). Marketing communication mix. Trakia Journal of Sciences , 13 (1), 368-374.
Wirtz, J., & Lovelock, C. (2016). Services marketing: People, technology . Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Company.
