Business Case Study: Kudler Fine Foods
Kudler Foods
Jon Keeler
MKT 421
May 14, 2014
Shane Akagi
Kudler Foods
Kudler Fine Foods is a food store that prides them-selves on delivering quality goods and wines to their customers. The store has three locations throughout the San Diego area to better accommodate the customers availability and experience. According to the accounting records, in 2003 the company had over a $600,000 loss. Even though this is the year that the third store was opened, it is still detrimental to a company. A well planned marketing system can increase profits year round and make a great impression on its customers (Gordon, 2006). Kudler Foods has a descent marketing system right now but it could always be better.
Surveys
A survey is used by companies to generate response from customers on their experience or what they would like to experience. Surveys can be an easy and cost effective way to perform market research (Riley, 2012). Kudler Foods performed a customer survey in 2012 and 2013. The surveys had customers rate the stores in areas like store atmosphere, goods selection, money value, and customer service. The surveys showed that customers viewed Kudler Foods as an average store to shop at. The …show more content…
worst showing of the surveys is that Kudler did not do any better from customer views from 2012 to 2013. If anything the store performed worse (“Survey Results”, 2013). Companies must use the market research tools to their advantage, if not the collection of this data is a waste of time.
Loyalty Programs Loyalty programs are steadily becoming more and more popular.
Kudler Foods has even introduced a loyalty program in their stores. Loyalty programs can become very beneficial in market research, it can record the products that are most bought and others that sit on shelves. Loyalty programs do not always work in the way they are intended to; in a study most companies that are known by the general public grow at about the same rate. A program must be proficient and give back to the customer (Marie-Claud & Singer, 2014). The Kudler Foods loyalty program is a very high end program for their best customers. It can be said that the program may be too inclusive. It seems that maybe only the one percent of customers is actually loyal and this could turn away new
customers.
Advertising
Currently the advertising that is marketing the company is constructed by the owner and put into the newspaper. The digital age has hit the newspaper industry very hard, less and less people actually read printed newspaper anymore. In the past few years’ revenues from advertising was dropped over six percent (Mitchell, Jurkowitz, & Guskin, 2013). This is a very small market that is being tapped for Kudler Foods. With so many outlets like television, radio, internet, and phone apps using only the newspaper is a waste of time. One way to greatly improve a company’s marketing output is outsourcing. Outsourcing the advertising to another company is beneficial because this is there trade. Having contracts and performing these acts everyday gives an array of new opportunities (Chastain, 2012). Hiring an employee who is a marketing expert in the digital age can be very costly and this might not be feasible for many small businesses (Pozin, 2014). This also unties the duties of the owners and allows them to focus on other areas.
New Stores Stores can be very successful in some neighborhoods and not in others. Kudler Foods being a fine foods and bakery store will do great in higher end neighborhoods. Whole Foods Company has made a living from opening stores in up-scale neighborhoods. When Whole Foods mentioned opening a store in Detroit many investors became worried that the company was reaching over its boundaries (Patton & Gruley, 2012). Another store in a well-positioned area can increase profits and bring their name out even more.
Competitive Analysis One way to ensure that you are doing better than every other business is from competitive intelligence. This knows how and why your competition is performing at a certain level; it helps coin the phrase “Staying above the competition”. Some ways that Kudler Foods can earn some intelligence of their competition is looking for trade associations, looking up Security and Exchange Commission records if publicly traded, searching company websites, and sending employees to the stores (Currim, Currim, Zhang, 2013). Kudler Foods will see what their competitors are doing and try to better them. If another store is selling a gourmet cheese that Kudler is not selling, it might behoove them to start stocking that type of cheese. Through all the analysis collected by Kudler Foods, the company will have to create a marketing strategy that will generate an asset or skill competitors do not have. This allows Kudler to have an advantage in the market (Entreprenuer Staff, 2006).
Conclusion
Kudler Foods has a distinct product they market with fine foods. The target market to the wealthier can bring large profits. There is a few marketing changes they can make to boost their customer base. The competitive intelligence and analysis can give Kudler a step past their competition if done right. The strategy can generate many new assets. Surveys should be taken seriously and problems need to be fixed. An average company will earn average profits. Surveys are the closest to customers’ opinions. Loyalty programs can be very beneficial to a company when done right. Looking only toward the wealthy buyers can smudge some average shoppers away. Advertising can be a complex system for anyone, even if the owner was once a Vice President in marketing. Outsourcing this to a company can take the ease off the owner and open new markets. Marketing is an important strategy for a company and it lies much deeper than an ad in a paper.
References
Chastian, R. (2012). The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Business Marketing Efforts. Retrieved from http://www.marketingzen.com/the-benefits-of-outsourcing-your-business-marketing-efforts/
Entreprenuer Staff. (2006). Competitive Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/25756
Gordon, K. T. (2006, August). Improve Sales With a Marketing Plan. Entrepreneur, (), . Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/165872
Marie-Claud, N., & Singer, M. (2014, March). The Secret To Creating Loyalty Programs That Actually Work. Business Insider, (), . Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/effective-loyalty-programs-2014-3
Mitchell, A., Jurkowitz, M., & Guskin, E. (2013, August). The Newspaper Industry Overall. Pew Research, (), . Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2013/08/07/the-newspaper-industry-overall/
Patton, L., & Gruley, B. (2012, August). Whole Foods Sees Stores Tripling With Embrace of Produce . Bloomberg, (), . Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-21/whole-foods-sees-stores-tripling-with-embrace-of-produce.html
Pozin, IIya. (2014, April). Leave It To The Experts: Should You Outsource Your Marketing?. Forbes, (), . Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2014/04/23/leave-it-to-the-experts-should-you-outsource-your-marketing/
Riley, J. (2012). Role of Surveys. Retrieved from http://www.tutor2u.net/business/marketing/research-role-of-surveys.html
Survey Results. (2013). Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/Kudler2/intranet/survey-results.asp
Zhang, L., PhD., Currim, S., PhD., & Currim, F., PhD. (2011). Competitive intelligence task analysis and retrieval: An end-user approach. The Review of Business Information Systems, 15(2), 15-24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/866358633?accountid=458
Jon Keeler
MKT 421
May 14, 2014
Shane Akagi
Kudler Foods
Kudler Fine Foods is a food store that prides them-selves on delivering quality goods and wines to their customers. The store has three locations throughout the San Diego area to better accommodate the customers availability and experience. According to the accounting records, in 2003 the company had over a $600,000 loss. Even though this is the year that the third store was opened, it is still detrimental to a company. A well planned marketing system can increase profits year round and make a great impression on its customers (Gordon, 2006). Kudler Foods has a descent marketing system right now but it could always be better.
Surveys
A survey is used by companies to generate response from customers on their experience or what they would like to experience. Surveys can be an easy and cost effective way to perform market research (Riley, 2012). Kudler Foods performed a customer survey in 2012 and 2013. The surveys had customers rate the stores in areas like store atmosphere, goods selection, money value, and customer service. The surveys showed that customers viewed Kudler Foods as an average store to shop at. The …show more content…
worst showing of the surveys is that Kudler did not do any better from customer views from 2012 to 2013. If anything the store performed worse (“Survey Results”, 2013). Companies must use the market research tools to their advantage, if not the collection of this data is a waste of time.
Loyalty Programs Loyalty programs are steadily becoming more and more popular.
Kudler Foods has even introduced a loyalty program in their stores. Loyalty programs can become very beneficial in market research, it can record the products that are most bought and others that sit on shelves. Loyalty programs do not always work in the way they are intended to; in a study most companies that are known by the general public grow at about the same rate. A program must be proficient and give back to the customer (Marie-Claud & Singer, 2014). The Kudler Foods loyalty program is a very high end program for their best customers. It can be said that the program may be too inclusive. It seems that maybe only the one percent of customers is actually loyal and this could turn away new
customers.
Advertising
Currently the advertising that is marketing the company is constructed by the owner and put into the newspaper. The digital age has hit the newspaper industry very hard, less and less people actually read printed newspaper anymore. In the past few years’ revenues from advertising was dropped over six percent (Mitchell, Jurkowitz, & Guskin, 2013). This is a very small market that is being tapped for Kudler Foods. With so many outlets like television, radio, internet, and phone apps using only the newspaper is a waste of time. One way to greatly improve a company’s marketing output is outsourcing. Outsourcing the advertising to another company is beneficial because this is there trade. Having contracts and performing these acts everyday gives an array of new opportunities (Chastain, 2012). Hiring an employee who is a marketing expert in the digital age can be very costly and this might not be feasible for many small businesses (Pozin, 2014). This also unties the duties of the owners and allows them to focus on other areas.
New Stores Stores can be very successful in some neighborhoods and not in others. Kudler Foods being a fine foods and bakery store will do great in higher end neighborhoods. Whole Foods Company has made a living from opening stores in up-scale neighborhoods. When Whole Foods mentioned opening a store in Detroit many investors became worried that the company was reaching over its boundaries (Patton & Gruley, 2012). Another store in a well-positioned area can increase profits and bring their name out even more.
Competitive Analysis One way to ensure that you are doing better than every other business is from competitive intelligence. This knows how and why your competition is performing at a certain level; it helps coin the phrase “Staying above the competition”. Some ways that Kudler Foods can earn some intelligence of their competition is looking for trade associations, looking up Security and Exchange Commission records if publicly traded, searching company websites, and sending employees to the stores (Currim, Currim, Zhang, 2013). Kudler Foods will see what their competitors are doing and try to better them. If another store is selling a gourmet cheese that Kudler is not selling, it might behoove them to start stocking that type of cheese. Through all the analysis collected by Kudler Foods, the company will have to create a marketing strategy that will generate an asset or skill competitors do not have. This allows Kudler to have an advantage in the market (Entreprenuer Staff, 2006).
Conclusion
Kudler Foods has a distinct product they market with fine foods. The target market to the wealthier can bring large profits. There is a few marketing changes they can make to boost their customer base. The competitive intelligence and analysis can give Kudler a step past their competition if done right. The strategy can generate many new assets. Surveys should be taken seriously and problems need to be fixed. An average company will earn average profits. Surveys are the closest to customers’ opinions. Loyalty programs can be very beneficial to a company when done right. Looking only toward the wealthy buyers can smudge some average shoppers away. Advertising can be a complex system for anyone, even if the owner was once a Vice President in marketing. Outsourcing this to a company can take the ease off the owner and open new markets. Marketing is an important strategy for a company and it lies much deeper than an ad in a paper.
References
Chastian, R. (2012). The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Business Marketing Efforts. Retrieved from http://www.marketingzen.com/the-benefits-of-outsourcing-your-business-marketing-efforts/
Entreprenuer Staff. (2006). Competitive Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/25756
Gordon, K. T. (2006, August). Improve Sales With a Marketing Plan. Entrepreneur, (), . Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/165872
Marie-Claud, N., & Singer, M. (2014, March). The Secret To Creating Loyalty Programs That Actually Work. Business Insider, (), . Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/effective-loyalty-programs-2014-3
Mitchell, A., Jurkowitz, M., & Guskin, E. (2013, August). The Newspaper Industry Overall. Pew Research, (), . Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2013/08/07/the-newspaper-industry-overall/
Patton, L., & Gruley, B. (2012, August). Whole Foods Sees Stores Tripling With Embrace of Produce . Bloomberg, (), . Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-21/whole-foods-sees-stores-tripling-with-embrace-of-produce.html
Pozin, IIya. (2014, April). Leave It To The Experts: Should You Outsource Your Marketing?. Forbes, (), . Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2014/04/23/leave-it-to-the-experts-should-you-outsource-your-marketing/
Riley, J. (2012). Role of Surveys. Retrieved from http://www.tutor2u.net/business/marketing/research-role-of-surveys.html
Survey Results. (2013). Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/Kudler2/intranet/survey-results.asp
Zhang, L., PhD., Currim, S., PhD., & Currim, F., PhD. (2011). Competitive intelligence task analysis and retrieval: An end-user approach. The Review of Business Information Systems, 15(2), 15-24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/866358633?accountid=458