Snow Ball Marketing
Assignment #5
Lee Kingston
MKT 599
June 11, 2005
Dr. Fong
Assignment #5: Enhancing the Marketing Plan
Discuss the company’s competitors and the strengths and weaknesses of each. Snow Ball World will face several established and notable competitors in St. Bernard Parish. The first, Sugar Shack, located in Meraux, is the most popular in the area. They are a walk up operation that is based on Judge Perez Parkway. Their biggest strength is name recognition. They are the first place everyone mentions when talking about snow balls. They also are very big with social media. They have a Facebook page with hundreds of followers on it. The third strength is the location. Located on Judge Perez Parkway, most of the people heading to the lower part of the parish pass this on the way back home in the evenings during the peak warm hours. As strong as they are, in my opinion, they have several glaring weaknesses. First is the product they use. The flavors they use are not from Southern Show (the premier flavor provider in the area), you can clearly tell in the taste. It is not that what they use tastes bad; it simply is not as good as Southern Snow flavors. Another weakness is that they have no listed hours; it is basically luck/chance to whether or not they are open. This erratic behavior could hurt them when it comes to people wanting service. Our location is a few hundred yards away; if they are closed we will gladly take and keep their customers. Another competitor is Sloan’s Snow Balls; they are located on Paris Road in Chalmette. One strength they have is also location. Located on Paris Road, most people headed into the parish and down towards St. Bernard Highway will pass this. Another key strength is that besides a walk up operation, they also entertain a drive-through window as well. One weakness they have is their prices; in general they are 30 to 50 cents higher than the other snow ball stands in the area ("How to market," 2005). Another weakness is that
Lee Kingston
MKT 599
June 11, 2005
Dr. Fong
Assignment #5: Enhancing the Marketing Plan
Discuss the company’s competitors and the strengths and weaknesses of each. Snow Ball World will face several established and notable competitors in St. Bernard Parish. The first, Sugar Shack, located in Meraux, is the most popular in the area. They are a walk up operation that is based on Judge Perez Parkway. Their biggest strength is name recognition. They are the first place everyone mentions when talking about snow balls. They also are very big with social media. They have a Facebook page with hundreds of followers on it. The third strength is the location. Located on Judge Perez Parkway, most of the people heading to the lower part of the parish pass this on the way back home in the evenings during the peak warm hours. As strong as they are, in my opinion, they have several glaring weaknesses. First is the product they use. The flavors they use are not from Southern Show (the premier flavor provider in the area), you can clearly tell in the taste. It is not that what they use tastes bad; it simply is not as good as Southern Snow flavors. Another weakness is that they have no listed hours; it is basically luck/chance to whether or not they are open. This erratic behavior could hurt them when it comes to people wanting service. Our location is a few hundred yards away; if they are closed we will gladly take and keep their customers. Another competitor is Sloan’s Snow Balls; they are located on Paris Road in Chalmette. One strength they have is also location. Located on Paris Road, most people headed into the parish and down towards St. Bernard Highway will pass this. Another key strength is that besides a walk up operation, they also entertain a drive-through window as well. One weakness they have is their prices; in general they are 30 to 50 cents higher than the other snow ball stands in the area ("How to market," 2005). Another weakness is that
References: How to market snow balls. (2005, January 1). Retrieved from http://www.sno- ball.com/marketing- info.htm Simon, J. (2007, October 3). Debit card and credit card usage on the rise. Retrieved from http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/debit-credit-card-preferrepayment-php