Case overview
Indecisiveness especially regarding the issue of marketing is indeed one of the greatest challenges facing Kraft Coffee Pod. It is evident that the company allocates a lot of its resources in advertising and marketing. However, the current product manager (George Herzog) is unable to make a decision whether to launch additional coffee pods in other regions such as Canada and South America.
In actual sense, he cannot determine if the existing marketing strategy in the United States may be replicated in Canada and generate similar positive effects.
Analysis and evaluation
The above challenge arises from the fact that Herzog is not in a position to determine the best and most effective pricing model for retail and wholesale products in markets located outside the United Sates. It is crucial to mention that marketing conditions in the United States remarkably differ from other regions.
Hence, a pricing strategy that yields positive results in the US might not necessarily give impressive results elsewhere. In addition, the production manager is not certain about coffee flavors that are generally desired by consumers.
The tastes and preferences of customers are instrumental when introducing a new product or brand into the market. If consumers are not satisfied, it might lead to low volume of sales followed by gross losses. These are some of the reasons why Herzog does not want to make a quick decision.
Apart from identifying an appropriate marketing strategy, the manager also lacks a vantage position to determine the best distribution channels for delivering products. The choice of a distribution channel mainly depends on the available financial resources. As it stands now, the company has limited monetary resources that can be allocated to a more robust and effective channel of distribution.
Moreover, it is agreeable that the company is facing stiff competition from other major brands in Canada and the US. For instance, Procter and Gamble enjoys close to 9 % of the market share in the Canadian market while Nestle occupies 17% of the available market in terms of shares.
Other combined private companies assume about 23% of the market. Worse still, Melita and Salton compete directly with Kraft Coffee Pod. The high rate of competition and rival for the existing market are major threats for Kraft Coffee Pod both in the short and long-term period.
Recommendations
From the above evaluation, it is highly recommended that George Herzog should go ahead and launch the product in Canada in order to expand the market share of the company. Marketing risks are inevitable and hence, Kraft Coffee Pod should extend its operations beyond the US markets.
Herzog and the rest of the management team should also act aggressively and compete against potential market rivals such as Procter & Gamble. It is not advisable to forego launching the product yet statistics clearly indicate that there is an increase in the consumption of coffee. Therefore, an effective marketing plan should be put in place.
The company should also consider branding, pricing, promoting and distributing its product using effective strategies. These will enable it to remain relevant amidst stiff competition in the market.
For example, the mode of displaying its merchandise should be improved in order to attract customers. Other marketing strategies that the company can adopted and apply include sponsoring adverts in TV and radio, print advertising, and direct marketing.