Introduction
HäagenDazs is a brand within Nestlé Company that sells ice cream. The brand was founded by Reuben and Rose Mattus in the year 1961. The brand has grown to open franchises in many other countries across the world, despite the fact that the brand was founded in the United States of America (Smith 123). The aim of this research paper is to develop a marketing plan that can be used to expand HaagenDazs market in Istanbul.
Marketing plan to Expand HaagenDazs market in Istanbul
A marketing plan is a very important aspect in any business organization. It represents the business plan, as well as the strategy that the organization wants to use in marketing its products and expanding its current market (Westwood 25). Therefore, the marketing plan should include actions that the organization wishes to take in achieving its objectives (Sun 167).
HäagenDazs is yet to be fully accepted in Istanbul despite having stores in the city. The company has only two stores at the moment and there is need to expand the market in order to increase its sales and profitability.
Therefore, the company needs to find ways in which it can expand the market and make the brand recognized and widely accepted. Among the reasons why it has become recognized in Istanbul is tourism. In increasing the acceptability of the brand in Istanbul, it is important to first consider the cultural factors in the city and in the country as well since the culture of a society determines what can be accepted and what is not acceptable.
HaagenDazs is widely accepted in Turkey. People in Turkey buy ice cream and are satisfied with the HaagenDazs brand. This brand has a good and strong image in the country. Brand image is a very important factor in the success of a business. People are likely to buy products from a company that has a strong brand image.
In addition, people will be loyal to the brand, making it easier for the company to introduce new products under the brand name (McDonald and Warren 108). The company plans to introduce another flavour under the brand HaagenDazs. The flavour is said to be more adapted to the Turkey society and is referred to as baklava ice cream.
There will be two versions of the flavour. One will be a baklava ice cream cake. This will be a cake that will have two layers of ice cream that will be sandwiched between layers of baklava. The second version will be vanilla honey ice cream. This will be ice cream that will have pieces of baklava inside it.
It is important to note that as an international company, HaagenDazs might find it more complicated to prepare its marketing plan. This is because the company has its own culture that is not always compatible with the culture of the various countries that it has established operations (Brandt 21). This will mean that the company has to keep on changing its culture and cultural objectives from country to country.
This makes it difficult and complicated to draft marketing plans. The international marketing executives are, therefore, required to be highly experienced and skilful. Above everything, they should be flexible and creative (Mattila and Sunmee 360). This will enable them to develop marketing plans that are workable in different nations with different cultures.
The plans will be prepared effectively and in a timely manner. It is imperative to note that cultures might change often and the market structure might also keep on changing in different countries. This highlights the importance of having flexible marketing executives (Mooij 25).
The first step will be to identify the target market. An analysis of the target market will be carried out. In doing this, it might be important to find out the demographic details in the region. This will include the total population, the average age of the population or other the most common age group, the income per capita or the people in that population, as well as social welfare.
It is pertinent to note that the higher the population the higher the chances that the company will sell more products. The income per capita of the population should also be considered (Doole and Robin 72). This will determine the income the people of that region get and their purchasing power. Turkey has a relatively large population that is well over 80 million people (Doole and Robin 72).
Among its largest cities are Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Turkey is a country whose income per capita is relatively high. The people of Turkey have a high purchasing power. Resultantly, there are high chances that the HaagenDazs brand will make it in the country considering that the brand is widely accepted.
Promotion mix will also be very important in expanding the market. The company needs to come up with ways in which it can make the brand known to the population in Istanbul. Among the methods that can be used in ensuring effective promotion include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, as well as any other method that can be effective depending on the product in question (Richter 78).
In advertising, HaagenDazs can use the media, posters, and communication of messages that can convince the people to buy the brand. Another method of advertising that can also be effective is ensuring that prices are competitive. Lowering the prices of the product and at the same time ensuring that the prices are sustainable to the organization will be a sure way of attracting more people to buy HaagenDazs brand.
Sales promotion should be included in the marketing mix. When doing the sales promotion, the company should first consider the objectives of the promotion in order to come up with a strategy that will help it meet the objectives (Bowman and Hubert 56). Secondly, the company should consider the costs that it incurs in the process and compare the sales generated by the promotion.
The costs should always be lower than the revenues generated by the process. Personal selling is where the sales executives will approach the customers face to face and convince them to buy the brand.
Despite the fact that it can be effective since the marketer will get direct feedback from the customers, personal selling is relatively expensive. At the same time, it is not possible to reach many customers. However, this method should be included in the marketing mix to complement the other methods.
Distribution of the products is the other stage that HaagenDazs will use to expand its market in Istanbul. Effective distribution will ensure that more people will be able to access the products and increase the likelihood of buying the products. Therefore, the company should find the most effective way of distributing the products. It should consider the costs to ensure they are relevant and sustainable (Codita 112).
Conclusion
The marketing plan that a company develops is important since it determines the chances of success in the market. A marketing plan will help the company expand its current market and at the same time maintain its current customers.
It is important that the company considers all the factors that might affect the marketing plan so as to ensure an effective marketing. Cultural factors are among the factors that should be considered in addition to other aspects such a cost, market objectives, as well as the marketing strategy.
Works Cited
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