Trader Joe's Essay

Case Study “Trader Joe’s”
Unit 3 Assignment
Starting a Business
AB207-01
Samantha Powell

Case Study “Trader Joe’s” Joe Coulombe was the head of division of a small chain of convenience stores when his former boss decided to retire from the business instead of sticking around when new competition came along (Abrams, 2012). One strategic way to compete with competition is to target a specific group of consumers and really getting to know them to create a business just for that specific group of consumers. This is exactly what Joe did. His chain of convenience stores was called Trader Joe’s and they started by targeting consumers and communities that enjoyed going to a small grocery store with low prices, the best product, offered a
big variety of organic food, and carried cheap wine. Trader Joe’s soon expanded and before opening another store, Joe would get to know the people around where the new store would be located and make it the best grocery store that the community had ever had. Communities and consumers were excited to have one of Joe’s stores in their community (Abrams, 2012). One thing Joe could do to make sure he targeted new consumers and kept his current consumers happy would be to establish a relationship with his consumers or to make sure that his product had excellent quality. Factors that could help Joe establish a relationship with his consumers would be: be honest when advertising products, always have the best service, ensure that his store is convenient for current consumers, and to have a product that competitor don’t have. Another way Joe could improve in order to stand out when it comes to competitors is to prove theirs product’s quality. Joe is in a risky business. There are so many types of convenience stores and you are outnumbered by competitors, which grows fast. If you can’t target your consumer, offer things that competitors don’t have, establish trust, and prove the quality of your product or service; then you may want to follow Joe’s former boss and retire from the convenience store industry. Market segments is the process of dividing a market into sections (Abrams, 2012). When putting markets into sections, they are usually in sections together because they have something in common. This could mean their product or service is similar to one another. A good market segment that would be good for Trader Joe’s would be offering vegan foods. Not a lot of grocery stores offer vegan foods. The three major categories in the specialty food industry is organic/natural, specialty/gourmet, and vegan (ACEnet, 2014). While Trader Joe’s offers a variety of organic and specialty foods in their stores, they don’t offer vegan foods. I think this would be a great addition to the company and it would draw in more business. This market segment could help draw in a new group of customers which would increase consumers and suppliers. Trader Joe’s has been around since the 50s and has expanded into a huge company.
Trader Joe’s now has over 400 stores and is currently still expanding. As they continue to expand I believe that Trader Joe’s will still be aiming at a narrow market segment because that is how the company became so huge. Trader Joe’s will always be considered as a special company because that’s how they make their customers feel. Even on their website there is a place to give them your feedback or any ideas about their product along with a lot of other great things. As well as Trader Joes is doing I don’t really see them losing sight of their narrow market
segment. Large supermarkets usually have their own way of grabbing customers. For example: two large supermarkets that compete in my town are BI-LO and Wal-Mart. They have different ways of grabbing their customers. BI-LO is known as a small community grocery store that carries name brand products, and a lot of sales. Wal-Mart is known for having everything you need including: groceries, clothes, jewelry, electronics, furniture, shoes, medicine, any household supplies, and low prices. Personally I prefer to shop at BI-LO because it is easier to get in and out faster. If I need to get groceries and household supplies, I like to shop at Wal-Mart so I can get everything at once. So, large supermarkets should get to know the people around them and what they need. If large supermarkets understand what their customers need, then they can customize their store for their customers. This will draw in their business, especially if they target a specific group of consumers. This will help any competition of Trader Joe’s to grab a piece of Trader Joe’s market and expand their company. When I open a business, I hope to own an accounting firm.
Three target markets that makes sense in order to have a successful business would be small single owned companies, individuals that own a lot of real state that work for themselves, and small corporations that are trying to expand. The way I can be different from my competitors is to put my customers first and loyalty. First and for most, trust is something I got to have when messing with financial paperwork pertaining one’s business. Second, most people may think that their accountant is putting their business first when they are only looking out for themselves. Some accountants just care about getting the job done and getting their money. I want my business to stand out. I want to be able to make a difference and help my customers expand their company. The more I increase my customers business or businesses, the more I will expand my
business.

Reference: Abrams, R. (2012). Entrepreneurship: A Real-World Approach. (pg. 98-134) Palo Alto, Planning Shop. ACEnet. (2014). Identifying Your Market Segment Retrieved September 16, 2014, from http://www.acenetworks.org/warehouse/Identifying_Your_Market_Segment.pdf