Assignment TakenTo prepare a 2-years marketing strategy for Fresh Growers.

Case UnderstandingFresh Growers is an introduction to the farm-to-table concept of delivering fresh produce from farms to households in less than 3 hrs. So, they procure fresh farm produce from nearby farmers and directly deliver to consumers. It has a subscription based model, where one would receive daily vegetable needs every morning. Fresh Growers started its operations in Pune and is now looking at expanding to 2 more metro cities. With respect to Marketing, they Fresh Growers created a website and did social marketing to reach to its audience, also he has printed pamphlets and distributed them through newspapers. As a BTL activity they organized awareness campaigns in Housing societies. They started from one area of the city to start deliveries with a simple subscription-based delivery system and within one year covered most areas of Pune city. Now, in order to increase profitability we need to work on increasing our customer base in the existing locations and also expand to more locations. To be able to do that, we should reach more people, which has to be done by effective marketing. Conversion of the customer post awareness is also a major feature we need to focus on. The major aspect that wasn’t considered in the marketing strategy was segmentation and targeting and advertising accordingly. Also, creating brand awareness was a missing piece to the puzzle.

BCS Solution SummaryDigital Marketing- One of the key objectives of modern digital marketing is to raise brand awareness, the extent to which customers and the general public are familiar with and recognize a particular brand. Enhancing brand awareness is important in digital marketing, and marketing in general, because of its impact on brand perception and consumer decision-making. “Brand awareness, as one of the fundamental dimensions of brand equity, is often considered to be a prerequisite of consumers’ buying decision, as it represents the main factor for including a brand in the consideration set. Brand awareness can also influence consumers’ perceived risk assessment and their confidence in the purchase decision, due to familiarity with the brand and its characteristics.” Recent trends show that businesses and digital marketers are prioritizing brand awareness, focusing more on their digital marketing efforts on cultivating brand recognition and recall than in previous years. This is evidenced by a 2019 Content Marketing Institute study, which found that 81% of digital marketers have worked on enhancing brand recognition over the past year. Social Media Paid Marketing Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat are great platforms to create brand awareness and engage with the consumer base. It also adds a personal touch to the brand and seems more accessible. Search engine optimization (SEO) Content marketing Search engine marketing (SEM) Segmentation Influencer marketing Print Media- Leveraged Credibility “Influentials” Are Swayed by Print Print Readers Have Bigger Attention Spans

Solution

Marketing should serve as the keystone in your business plan for designing a sustainable business. Our marketing decisions will impact a wide variety of production decisions - what crop to raise, establishment and maintenance, crop rotations, harvesting schedules, and the labor needed for both production and marketing tasks. The most successful agriculture start-ups consider their marketing strategies long before they sell processed products.

In today's competitive markets, just being able to produce a good product doesn't assure one a good price. We not only have to be able to produce a consistently, high quality product and sell it, but sell it at a price high enough to generate a sustainable profit. Production and marketing decisions must work in tandem. "Failing to plan is planning to fail," still applies for any business enterprise. We are more likely to reach our goals and marketing targets when we have taken the time to strategically evaluate our options and develop an intentional marketing plan.

The term "marketing mix" became popularized after Neil H. Borden published his 1964 article, The Concept of the Marketing Mix. Borden began using the term in his teaching in the late 1940's after James Culliton had described the marketing manager as a "mixer of ingredients". The ingredients in Borden's marketing mix included product planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. E. Jerome McCarthy later grouped these ingredients into the four categories that today are known as the 4 P's of marketing. 

Place

The marketing channel drives all the other marketing plan components. It determines where and how much produce must be harvested/processed, the logistics involved in sales and delivery, the use of technology, which marketing tools are most effective, and the degree of customer service required to grow the business.

1. How to do marketing apart from the Internet. Most home delivery services maintain an on-line "store" where products are listed and deliveries placed. 
2. How to maintain the service level consumers expect when purchasing items on-line for delivery. Webpages must have exceptional picture and clear weights so customers know exactly how much product they are ordering for the posted price. 
3. Is there a norm for this? Home delivery is now part of the marketing strategies for most major retailers. Using local advertising, word-of-mouth, promotions at the farmers market or the on-farm stand, producers are spreading the word that home delivery is the way to go. 

Pricing

Customer perception of a product will play a vital role in determining the ceiling price. If consumers view your farm produce as a "specialty" product, they will be willing to pay the premium price. However, you must also educate customers about the factors that not only add to the uniqueness of your product, but also to your production costs.

One must also be sensitive to the barriers to direct marketing farm-raised meats that exist. These include:

• Consumers' lack of trust in unknown sources - particularly those seen as unregulated or lacking standards.
• The need for convenience-access - where will they pay this much for this type of produce on a regular basis? 
• Resistance to buying in smaller volumes. Consumers don't want to purchase a side or a quarter. 

The key to profitable pricing is to determine the actual cost of production for the produce. Find all processing, marketing, labor and management costs for a quantity of product produced, typically on a carcass basis. This method of actual costs determines the break-even price per animal. This information must be coupled with several external factors which will also affect your final price. 

These include knowing: 

• What customers want and are willing to pay?
• What is the regular retail price?

Cost-plus pricing involves knowing all your costs including production, processing, waste, spoilage, transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing. Once you have calculated the total cost of producing your processed beef, you can try different margins or markup to come up with a price. Markup is the amount the cost is raised to achieve the desired selling price. Margin is the percentage of the selling price above the cost of producing the product. A product is only worth what a customer is willing to pay for it. To calculate the markup for a product you multiple the cost of producing the product times the percentage you want to mark it up. The result is added to the selling price. 

Promotion

The old adage "a good product sells itself" no longer applies. Promotion is a term which many people confuse with the word "marketing." Promotion differs from marketing in its function to create product awareness, although awareness is just the beginning. The objective of promotion is to move customers through the following phases: Unawareness > Awareness > Beliefs > Attitude > Purchasing Intentions > Purchase. Our promotional activities must help him move from one phase to the next and finally to a purchase if you are to make sales and develop repeat customers. This process is known as branding." 

A brand has a collective impact or lasting impression that results in customer loyalty. Branding entails owning a "place" in the customer's mind. When customers think of fresh farm products, you want them to think of your product. 

Electronic Media

Internet-based communications tools popularly known as "social media" has created a new wave of creative marketing tactics. Technology savvy entrepreneurs must stay abreast of emerging these low-cost, direct advertising opportunities. Like the Internet, advertising through wireless communications to cell phones and PDA's will make companies size-neutral and focus the consumer's attention entirely on the product's quality, features, and services. Social media platforms such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter and others provide marketing opportunities that lower costs by utilizing wireless or Wi-Fi rates, rather than the ever increasing postal rates. These technologies include personal computers, modems, fax machines, electronic bulletin boards, email, and interactive discs. 

Personal Efforts "Networking" and "Word of Mouth" referrals are the most effective way to reduce out of pocket costs and cultivate a customer. The valued opinion of influential customers is the most important and cost effective promotion that a business can develop. Markets never buy anything; only customers buy products and services.

Place

The marketing channel drives all the other marketing plan components. It determines where and how much produce must be harvested/processed, the logistics involved in sales and delivery, the use of technology, which marketing tools are most effective, and the degree of customer service required to grow the business.

1. How to do marketing apart from the Internet. Most home delivery services maintain an on-line "store" where products are listed and deliveries placed. 
2. How to maintain the service level consumers expect when purchasing items on-line for delivery. Webpages must have exceptional picture and clear weights so customers know exactly how much product they are ordering for the posted price. 
3. Is there a norm for this? Home delivery is now part of the marketing strategies for most major retailers. Using local advertising, word-of-mouth, promotions at the farmers market or the on-farm stand, producers are spreading the word that home delivery is the way to go.

Product

A subscription based model providing fresh and fast produce directly to your households.

 

Customer Service 

Once the various markets have been identified, it is easier to determine which ones make the most sense and which ones offer the path of least resistance. Whether you are marketing your products through wholesalers, retailers, or directly to consumers, your success depends on personal, "whatever-it-takes" customer service. This is something customers can't find in large chainstores, buying clubs, or wholesale markets. Give some intentional thought to your farm business' philosophy of customer service - what customer experience is your business trying to deliver? Customers are at the heart of all your marketing efforts.It is always more cost efficient to retain a customer than cultivate a new one. Satisfying Customers Your customer will not only expect a quality product, but family-sized packaging, precise and informative labeling, and ease in completing the ordering and payment process.

ConclusionSegmenting our customer base and targeting them accordingly with our digital marketing campaigns. Creating brand awareness and increasing subscriptions in the existing locations as well as expand to newer locations.