EOC Week 10: What are the benefits vs the features?

Chocolate Impressions greeting cards are created using laser engraving technology. The benefits of using laser engraving is that the images and fonts created on the card can have far more detail then chocolate cards that are made in molds. Another benefit is that the engraving process is sanitary since nothing physically touches the surface of the card during the engraving process.

Chocolate Impressions greeting cards will feature fine artwork and messages. The customers will be able to, using the online, create their own card design using Chocolate Impressions database of images and message content. I the customer so desires they can provide their own content to be made into a greeting card making for a unique and special gift.

EOC: Week 9, 3 Great Mission Statements

Todd Cecil's mission statement talks about tasteful ways to gain energy and health. This is gives the impression that his company cares about it's customers and wants them to be healthy and happy.

Oscar Corral's mission statement speaks to their customers desire to indulge in chocolates without the embarrassment of bad breath giving the image that the company wants to help the customer.

Fernando Trueba's mission statement speaks to their customers desire to try new experiences and promises hugs and good feelings. Who doesn't need more hugs?

Final Project: Implementation Evaluation Control

"Through implementation, the company turns the plans into actions. Control consists of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities and taking corrective action where needed. Finally, marketing analysis provides information and evaluations needed for all of the other marketing activities." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 31.) Implementation of our plan will require acquiring the necessary equipment for laser engraving, melting and pouring the chocolate plus set up a supply chain for the ingredients and molds for the cards. The online store needs to be set up with a proper check-out and payment system. We will need to put controls in place to make sure that our marketing is getting good results and correct it need be. A SWOT analysis will be performed to evaluate all of our marketing activities.

"The company should analyze its markets and marketing environment to find attractive opportunities and identify environmental threats. It should analyze company strengths and weaknesses as well as current and possible marketing actions to determine which opportunities it can best pursue."  (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 32.) We will continue to analyze the market to identify new opportunities and threats. As new opportunities appear we will re-evaluate our strengths and weaknesses to determine if they should be pursued.

Final Project: Price

Chocolate Expressions products give the customer excellent value. They are unique in the marketplace and therefore can demand a higher price then the competition. "Customer perceptions of the product’s value set the ceiling for prices. If customers perceive that the price is greater than the product’s value, they will not buy the product." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 9, page 5.) We believe that the customer will agree that our products offer great value. The intricate detail of the greeting cards plus there value as a gift of chocolate will tell the customer that this is a must buy. "Like everything else in marketing, good pricing starts with customers and their perceptions of value." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 9, page 5.)

The 8oz Chocolate Expressions greeting cards will be offered at $24.95 plus shipping.

Final Project: Promotion

Promotion is a very important part of marketing. Not only to bump sells in a down market but as a way to get brand recognition when first introducing a product. "Personal selling and advertising often work closely with another promotion tool, sales promotion. Sales promotion consists of short-term incentives to encourage purchase or sales of a product or service. Whereas advertising offers reasons to buy a product or service, sales promotion offers reasons to buy now." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 36, page 49.)  Chocolate Expressions will have an initial promotion through Facebook and Twitter offering free shipping if the customer clicks through on the site. Additional promotions will be scheduled throughout the year with great emphasis placed on Valentines Day. "The growing use of sales promotion has resulted in promotion clutter, similar to advertising clutter. A given promotion runs the risk of being lost in a sea of other promotions, weakening its ability to trigger immediate purchase. Manufacturers are now searching for ways to rise above the clutter, such as offering larger coupon values, creating more dramatic point-of-purchase displays, or delivering promotions through new interactive media, such as the Internet or cell phones." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 37, page 49.) We believe that the use of the internet will increase the power of our promotions and we will also use direct cellphone promotions to further our market share.

Final Project: Distribution

Initially, Chocolate Expressions own online store will be the sole distributor of our products. "Between intensive and exclusive distribution lies selective distribution—the use of more than one, but fewer than all, of the intermediaries who are willing to carry a company’s products." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 10, page 26.) Since this is not the best distribution model we will begin working with greeting card companies and specialty chocolate outlets to carry our products in their stores. "The producer and intermediaries need to agree on the terms and responsibilities of each channel member. They should agree on price policies, conditions of sale, territory rights, and specific services to be performed by each party." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 10, page 26.) It is important that each channel member adhere our pricing polices so as not to weaken our position in the market. Also, any online promotions will be exclusive to our online store.

Final Project: Product

Chocolate Expressions will consist of laser engraved chocolate greeting cards. The base product will be a 5" x 7", 8oz chocolate card the will then be laser engraved with a picture and message suitable for birthdays, anniversaries or Valentine's Day. "Developing a product or service involves defining the benefits that it will offer. These benefits are communicated and delivered by product attributes such as quality, features, and style and design." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 7, page 13.) Chocolate Expression cards will be made from the finest chocolate available and will use the best greeting card designers in the business. "Quality has a direct impact on product or service performance; thus, it is closely linked to customer value and satisfaction. In the narrowest sense, quality can be defined as “freedom from defects.”" (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 7, page 13.) Every Chocolate Expressions greeting card will be thoroughly inspected for defects and sealed for freshness. Chocolate Expressions will also do periodic customer surveys to insure that we are maintaining our high standards.

 

Final Project: Target Market Strategy

Chocolate Expressions will use the internet to market its products. This will include but is not limited to a dedicated chocolate blog, Facebook and Twitter. We will target young to middle age males as they are to most likely to see the value of our products. We will accomplish this by placing ads on technology and gaming web sites. "A marketing strategy consists of specific strategies for target markets, positioning, the marketing mix, and marketing expenditure levels." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 33.)

"Planning good strategies is only a start toward successful marketing. A brilliant marketing strategy counts for little if the company fails to implement it properly. (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 33.) In addition to placing web site ads, we will use Google AdSense on our online store. The use of web advertising and AdSense will allow us to track the effectiveness of our marketing.

 

Final Project: SWOT

"Strengths include internal capabilities, resources, positive situational factors that may help the company to serve its customers and achieve its objectives." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 31.) Chocolate Expressions strengths lie in our ability to innovate new ways to bring confections to the market. The use of laser engraving will bring a new standard to chocolate greeting cards and in the future we will be utilizing 3D printing to craft confections before impossible create.

"Weaknesses include internal limitations and negative situational factors that may interfere with the company’s performance." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 31.) Our inability to anticipate initial demand for our products can cause a problem in ordering supplies and determining time requirements to market. Determining internet marketing strategies can also be difficult.

"Opportunities are favorable factors or trends in the external environment that the company may be able to exploit to its advantage." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 31.)The trend in today's greeting card market is to find new and exciting ways to send your message. 

the fact that Chocolate Expressions cards are both a greeting card and a gift of chocolate speaks to this trend.

"And threats are unfavorable external factors or trends that may present challenges to performance." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 31.) The main threat to Chocolate Expressions is maintaining a sufficient supply of materials for our products.

Final Project: Objectives

The mission of Chocolate Expressions is to create laser engraved chocolate greeting cards to provide customers with unique, beautiful and tasty ways to give their message to friends and loved ones. "This broad mission leads to a hierarchy of objectives, including business objectives and marketing objectives." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 9.)

In order to insure the quality of the products research must be done on the best methods of laser engraving in chocolate. Also a search for the best quality chocolate must be undertaken.

"Kohler’s overall objective is to build profitable customer relationships by developing efficient yet beautiful products that embrace the “essence of gracious living.”" (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 9.) Like Kohler, Chocolate Expressions' overall objective is build profitable customer relationships. Chocolate Expressions will do this by creating products that allow our customers to give love, beauty and friendship to those important people in their lives with a unique, and tasty gift.

Final Project: Business Mission Statement

The mission of Chocolate Expressions is to create laser engraved chocolate greeting cards to provide customers with unique, beautiful and tasty ways to give their message to friends and loved ones. "An organization exists to accomplish something, and this purpose should be clearly stated." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 2, page 5.)
The initial push will be to cover Valentines Day, anniversaries and birthdays. Later, cards will be developed for other occasions.

Week 8: Creative content

Chocolate in it's many forms and packaging has been a favorite of persons of all ages. Chocolate is well received as a present for special occasions such birthdays, Valentines Day and anniversarys. What better way to give chocolate then as a beautifully engraved greeting card.


The chocolate greeting cards will be laser engraved. This will allow high resolution fonts, graphics and even photographs to be created in the chocolate. The cards will then be sealed for freshness and encased in a decorative gift box appropriate to the occasion.

"Several major factors are changing the face of today’s marketing communications. First, consumers are changing. In this digital, wireless age, they are better informed and more communications empowered." (ARMSTRONG, KOTLER, Marketing An Introduction, chapter 12, page 6.) I will be doing my marketing on the internet via social networks, Google, and blogs. I will setup accounts with Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest for my product plus a dedicated chocolate blog. The web site that is setup for the online store will use the latest methods to increase it's Google rating, especially links.

I will create 3 to 5 sample greeting cards in Photoshop. The cards will be placed on a pleasant background and placed into a slide show. The intent here is to show variety and amazing detail achievable with laser engraving the chocolate greeting cards.

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

Chocolate Expressions

Laser engraved chocolate greeting cards

Imagine the thrill of your loved one when he or she receives one of these beautiful and tasty cards. They are created using the latest laser technology in your choice of milk or dark chocolate.

Previously chocolate cards were produced by pouring the chocolate into molds. This process was limited to a few words and simple graphics. By using laser engraving techniques we are able to produce cards in high resolution equaling cards printed on paper. This means that you can have a complete message or a poem and not just a few words that don’t say what you really mean.

Initially we will be using our own in-house writers to create the cards but in the future we hope to partner with and established company such as Hallmark to bring a whole world of card types, styles and messages.

The cards will be placed in stores and specialty shops as well as being available at our online store.

Week 6 EOC: Me X 3

I use Yamaha keyboards.

I play guitar and keyboard for my own personal pleasure and over the years I have exclusively purchased Yamaha keyboards. I really like the consistent quality of Yamaha products and now after many years of using their keyboards I am used to the commonality of how they work. I first became aware of Yamaha as a musical instrument manufacture when I was in band in high school. I played the french horn which was provided by the school and it was a Yamaha.

Levis 505 and 559 jeans.

I have worn Levis 505 jeans since I was a kid. That is what my mother bought for all of us kids. I am sure that she bought Levis because of their reputation of not only being the original but the toughest jeans on the market. As I grew up and started making my own buying decisions Levis were the only choice for me. My mother couldn’t be wrong could she?

Dove soap

I grew up using Zest soap. As I got older my skin became more sensitive so I sought out a milder soap that wouldn’t leave me with a rash.

I was influenced by the ads for Dove soap and have been using it every sense. As advertised it is gentle but cleans well leaving no residue. I now use the Dove Men’s + Care in the shower. This is the best cleaning system I have ever used. It is a liquid soap with a plastic scrubber.