Marketing Planning and Strategy Blue Cherry Company †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Planning and Strategy Blue Cherry Company. Answer: Aim of the Report This report was created with intention of providing its readers with a roadmap that could be possibly adopted by the Blue Cherry Company, situated in Lenswood, South Australia as a marketing strategy to gain further market capture. This is not to be considered as an inert plan rather a snapshot of the current market environment for the product and objective that guides the organization currently. The plan should be further corrected and improvised with its progression. Marketing Objectives The objective is to be able to create a framework for supporting the organizations goals and objectives, most importantly: Develop brand awareness Gradual increase in sales or decrease inmarketing expense Description of Industry Cherry industry of Australia is one of the few upcoming industries. They produce about 9500 tonnes of cherry annually. Tasmania leads among the primary six cherry producing states and focusses mostly on exports (Smith and Cameron, 2017, p.73). Cherries are sensitive products and with the production window less and huge demands for up to 15000 tonnes, it already lags in demand (Toivenon, 2014, p.71-82). With introduction of US cherries, the demand for Australian cherries have only catapulted. The industry relies on two tools designed to track and monitormarketing metrics AC Nielson Homescan industry research tool by Sprout Research. Cherries are usually adopted by households mostly in their daily fruit intake, as snack, in salads, breakfasts. Trend reports have indicated, it is mostly purchased by women above age of 35. There is a huge potential to target it to those below 35 years. There is an increasing demand of Australian cherries and since it is mostly bought on impulse, its look, freshness and firmness are important cues to purchase. Description of Organization Blue Cherry Company produces Big, Sweet, Delicious cherries which is exclusively grown in their garden. They have their own orchard situated in cool climate region of Adelaide Hills which lends the sweet taste to the cherries and good size. Their cherries are exported as well as sold locally by them at Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. It is a family run business. They sell a large variety of cherries which is grown in-house in their 25 hectares plus orchards. Some of the varieties they sell/export are- Merchant Santina Stella Lapins Simone Sweet Georgia Currently, it offers sales through its shed door sales where customers could take a prior appointment and buy cherries directly from them in 2 and 5 KG packs. Key Trends affecting the Industry Cherries are largely bought and consumed fresh. If the fruit is blemish free and colour is good adds up to its saleability. Another important factor is the domestic consumption vs the export ration which is about 80% to 20%. There is requirement for about 1500 tonnes of cherries and the production is only about 9500 tonnes. The short production window places lot of pressure on the growers. With the strength of Australian dollars, it is essentially a good crop to export. Nevertheless, to point out the challenges are: Inconsistent cherry qualities High wastage level at retail stores and supermarkets Lack of education to retailers on proper storage to increase shelf life Even though there is optimum temperature management in supplies, as soon as the bulk packing is opened for storage on shelves in retail stores, their shelf life rapidly drops, eventually leading to wastage. Supermarkets and independent retailers together comprise about 67% of sales channel for cherries and Farmers Market just 10%. Weather plays a huge role in cherry production and often is responsible for further reducing production by up to 15%. In warmer regions, cherries mature faster even further decreasing its life cycle. From November to February, approximately 100 days of cherry production window is just available to growers. Then there is also issue of new strains of virus and pests infecting the cherries further reducing the yield of the industry. This is also one of the most challenging factors affecting the industry. (Barry et al 2014, p.67-72) Key Success Factors of the Industry The industry has been exhibiting tremendous rise and changes with doubling its production in a decade. Between 2004 and 2011, there were significant plantings done and hence since 2008, a lot of improvements have been noticed. The plantings still continue and with this trend, they are bound to meet the requirements very soon. A national body-Cherry Growers Association(CGA) is created to safeguard the interests of cherry growers from across Australia. (Low and Pasadilla, 2016) Key success factors or current drivers of the industry could be listed as: Strong Leadership by CGA CGA after being established some 40 years ago have shown good leadership and changed the way the cherry industry functions. From ways to good seeds, research and development, opening export avenues etc. its contribution is enormous Industry has become more professional and vision oriented under CGAs leadership CGA has brought in wave of professionalism in cherry industry. It is not just a farmer growing cherries rather it has built various communities to assist in various regions in Australians growing cherries by contributing through science, technology and even genetics (Treeby et al, 2014, p. 227-230) Consistency in quality is reached to meet consumer requirements set standards have been made which has ensured consistency in quality of cherries from Australia. They are known worldwide for their size and sweetness National breeding program has been in place Varieties of cherries that respond best to the weather, considering the short time that they have is another point that has affected the industry positively. With new strains of cherries and varieties that are more weather resistant that they ever were and also averse to pest issues (Kinoti et al, 2016) Improved varieties have been brought in The already existent varieties have been boosted in terms of sweetness and size to gain more export ground CHA has installed skill and capability improvement programmes with new planting being done across nation, lot of new manpower is recruited. CGA ensures that the training happens happens as per the new competency standards Export market potentials are improved CGA works on gaining new markets for the Australia cherries as well This has contributed to the economy and the cherry industry as a whole. With the short window and production of 1% roughly, they are rare product and to help them reach the world helps bring in more AUDs. Statement of Problem A SWOT for The Blue Cherry Company reveals: Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats a. Good quality sweet, big and nutrient rich product b. Access to good climate adding to proper quality yields c. Quantity of yield is good d. Reaches out to consumers directly e. Availability of good space a. Available mostly locally b. Customers need to take an appointment to pick up and buy c. Available in small quantities only a. Collaboration with big players to reach out to maximum customers b. Selling on online platforms c. Proper marketing to educate and gain customers d. Increase production by utilizing space e. Growth in export markets f. Growth in domestic reach a. Limited days of production b. Low production c. Limited access to export d. High production cost e. Unfavourable climate With the increasing demand of the industry The Blue Cherry Company faces threat of lagging behind as it has not aggressively marketed its products. With limited reach locally, it has mostly stuck to local markets whereas it has potential to sell more. It needs to invest in future marketing strategies by adoption of marketing activities more than the shed door sales brochure on its website. It is clear the company has not even waken up to the power of social media platforms and does not have even a single link of association. The Blue Cherry Company needs to work on a marketing communication strategy to increase its brands appeal introduction of successful ad-campaigns could do better for the company as well to increase its customer capture. Blue Cherry Company needs to work on a strategy to improve the customer reach by means of marketing tools. Also, it needs to work on product and brand visibility. Building a plan and proper implementation, the brand requires to enter the subconscious mind of the consumers. To send across message that cherries are good and important in their diet and that Blue Cherry Companys cherries are just that. With increased brand visibility they could maximise their market capture and sales eventually. Also, Blue Cherry Company should work on a plan so that their product reaches more customers other than their already created supply base. Weather is out of control of the Blue Cherry Company, infact a report of 2016 shows that Tasmania grew the most expensive cherries ever (Close et al 2009). Cold winds. Rainfalls, pests wreaked havoc on production that year. The Blue Cherry Company needs to use them as points to gain favour of Australians to support the local production by buying them from farmers (Houston et al, p.1-13) Apart from that, the blue Cherry Company also needs to market vigorously the fact that their cherries have been grown in a pest free environment as this is one of the tough challenges that this industry faces (Ekman et al, 2009). References Journals Smith, S. and Cameron, A., 2017. Horticulture: Outlook to 2021-22.Agricultural Commodities,7(1), p.73. Barry, K.M., Tarbath, M., Glen, M., Measham, P. and Corkrey, R., 2014, August. Understanding infection risk factors for integrated disease management of brown rot and grey mould in sweet cherry. InXXIX International Horticultural Congress on Horticulture: Sustaining Lives, Livelihoods and Landscapes (IHC2014): 1105(pp.67-72). Toivonen, P.M., 2014, October. Integrated analysis for improving export of sweet cherries and how a small industry can compete by focusing on premium quality. InV International Conference Postharvest Unlimited 1079(pp. 71-82). Balmer, M., 2015. Excursion Report: Sweet Cherry Growing in Australia.Erwerbs-Obstbau. Measham, P.F., Quentin, A.G. and MacNair, N., 2014. Climate, winter chill, and decision-making in sweet cherry production.Hortscience,49(3), pp.254-259. Houston, L., Capalbo, S., Seavert, C., Dalton, M., Bryla, D. and Sagili, R., 2017. Specialty fruit production in the Pacific Northwest: adaptation strategies for a changing climate.Climatic Change, pp.1-13. Connellan, G.J. and Parks, S., 2014, August. The Australian greenhouse industrymeeting the challenges. InXXIX International Horticultural Congress on Horticulture: Sustaining Lives, Livelihoods and Landscapes (IHC2014): 1107(pp. 37-44). Smith, S. and Hogan, J., 2016. Trade in fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and tree nuts.Agricultural Commodities,6(2), p.116. Kinoti, W.M., Constable, F., Nancarrow, N., Rodoni, B. and Plummer, K.M., 2016. First Report of Cherry virus A (CVA) in Australia and the First Report of CVA Infecting Prunus cerasifera.Plant Disease. Treeby, J., McConnell, S. and Hincksman, M., 2014, August. The Horticulture Industry Networkan innovative model for capability building and collaboration? A review. InXXIX International Horticultural Congress on Horticulture: Sustaining Lives, Livelihoods and Landscapes (IHC2014): Plenary 1126(pp. 227-230). Book Low, P. and Pasadilla, G.O. eds., 2016.Services in Global Value Chains: Manufacturing-Related Services. World Scientific.