Product Description
Tervis Tumblers, a family owned company produces the ultra sonically sealed indestructible tumblers, which come in six different sizes together with a 2.5qt ice bucket.
The company makes use of double walled technology in producing the tumblers as well as the ice buckets and this greatly aids in insulation properties as well as personalized design. The fact that Tervis tumblers bear specific logos, words, or pictures as per the customer’s request has greatly promoted the products. It is also worth noting that customers get a lifetime guarantee on the Tervis tumblers that they buy; this means that if the products are damaged during normal usage, a replacement is guaranteed.
In the year 2006, the company’s sales grew by 38% through September, and in the same year, Tervis Tumblers was named the company of the year by the Sarasota County Economic Development Corporation in the United States (Anon Para 1).
Tervis Tumblers currently has the headquarters in North Venice, Florida and most of its products are sold in the United States. Bearing in mind the quality of the products it is imperative to think of how well the product would sell internationally. Moreover, according to Lynn (Para. 3), most of the tervis tumblers cost between US $10 and US $14 whereas the ice buckets go for US $40 in the market.
Cultural Influences
Tervis tumblers have been widely marketed in many parts of the world but hardly in Africa. In Africa, one of the countries with the most stable economies and very high purchasing power is South Africa. In 2009, the country had an annual GDP purchasing power parity of US $ 488.6 and its Per capita GDP is US$ 10000; and according to UNICEF (2008) statistics, South Africa has an adult literacy rate of 88%. Due to these reasons, South Africa is an ideal candidate for international marketing of Tervis tumblers.
In addition, South Africa has one of the most diverse and culturally rich societies in the world. Moreover, South Africans are very hospitable and the country is actually home a variety of cultures including the black people, whites, colored, and Indians among others (South Africa – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette Para 1).
South Africans have very close family ties and they largely operate on mutual trust in their relationships. Those who live in rural regions are more culturally conservative than the urban dwellers and as such, city dwellers are often materialistic and live on the fast lane. Therefore, the immediate target market for the products should be the city dwellers.
However, this will greatly depend on the specific ethnic group the company will be dealing with putting in mind that each of the three main ethnic communities – British, Boers, and native Africans – has unique cultural heritage and purchasing behavior (Ahlstrom and Bruton 228).
South Africans highly value the creative arts, with many musicians, movie stars, and authors being highly acclaimed all over the world. Arts galleries are held all over the country, most of which cater for tourists.
The South Africans’ love for arts is one aspect that would highly be exploited for Tervin tumblers’ marketing purposes considering that the tumblers are embossed with the customer’s design/artwork of choice. South Africans also love the national colors, especially because they value their cultural heritage. Indeed, a product containing or colored in the national colors would be highly marketable.
Product and promotional emphasis
This being a new product in South Africa, importing it from the United States to cut down on the colossal costs of setting up a manufacturing plant will be more appealing. In South Africa, many goods, especially industrial inputs are imported duty free and where duty is applied, the rates are always competitive (Guide to importing into South Africa Para. 5).
Moreover, the country has become one of the prime market targets for many global producers of various products in the recent years, thus Tervis Tumblers will have to move fast to exploit this attractive market (Wilson, Abiola and World Bank 248). This therefore means that the product will not end up being too expensive because of transport costs, taxes, and customs duty.
Through proper correspondence with the Tervis Tumblers headquarters in Florida, some of the products will be embossed with artworks that show South African heritage.
This will enable South Africans to identify with the tumblers. The company will need to engage an agent to help with the distribution as the study of the market and the strategies used by the competitors continues. The agent will also help in selling to the established wholesalers and dealers as well as departmental stores and retailers such as Abtech, Corporate Gifts, and Glow Sticks among others.
The most populous cities in the country that include Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, East Rand and Pretoria will be the primary target markets because they offer a higher probability of reaching the masses. in addition, the rich mass media industry will provide a ample avenue for advertising, thus making it easier to market the products.
Moreover, considering that South Africa has a high adult literacy rate, the company will have to market the product by placing advertisements in the popular Newspapers as well as websites such as www.alibaba.com.
As a good marketing strategy, there will be need to carefully cultivate good customer relations, learning of the changing demographic and buyer patterns as well as getting to know the emerging, neglected and poorly served markets for tumblers in the country (Parley 10).
In order to counter the challenges that arise from marketing through the traditional media, the company will also do conversation marketing, which involves dialoguing with the target markets and getting feedback from potential customers (Lurie 9). The internet is a very good means of conversation marketing as it allows a marketer to respond to comments posted by customers or interested buyers in the particular website.
Works Cited
Ahlstrom, David and Bruton, Garry D. International Management: Strategy and Culture in the Emerging World. Cengage Learning. 2009.
Anon. Tervis Tumbler marks 60 years with strong sales, awards and recognitions. 2010. Web.
Lynn, Janet. Tervis No Sweat Tumblers – Lifetime Guarantee. 2010. Web.
“South Africa – Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette.” kwintessential. 2010. Web.
“Guide to Importing into South Africa.” Guide to Importing into South Africa. 2010. Web.
Parley Norton. The Manager’s Guide to Competitive Marketing Strategies. London, Thorogood. 2005. Web.
Lurie Ian. Conversation Marketing; Internet Marketing Strategies. Washington, Potent Interactive Inc. 2006. Web.
UNICEF. Statistics: South Africa. 2008. Web.
Wilson, John S., Abiola, Victor O. and World Bank. Standards and global trade: a voice for Africa. World Bank Publications. 2003. Web.