Background
The event chosen for the current strategic marketing plan is the presentation of the company Cascadian Farm’s gluten-free products in its stores. The organization’s owner is General Mills, a corporation specializing in nutrition (Frohlich, 2023). The focus of Cascadian Farm is on the whole, organic products of the highest quality. It can be regarded as part of the business related to healthy nutrition.
The products the organization sells ensure clients that this type of food will be more nutritious and help improve their quality of life in the long term. The mission of the marketing department at Cascadian Farm is to educate the target audience about healthy nutrition and to promote products that the company’s clients might find interesting. These goals are consistent with the organization’s business objective of giving people the opportunity to eat healthily by selling the organic foods it produces.
The discussed initiative is justified by the needs of the target population, which is interested in healthy eating, longevity, and a high quality of life. Growing numbers of people with celiac disease and a trend toward removing allergenic proteins from diets are driving up demand for products without gluten. The need for a thorough grasp of gluten-free products stems from the market’s rapid growth. The gluten-free products presentation is a promising event that will increase public awareness of the products Cascadian Farm promotes and the importance of incorporating them into a healthy diet.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths of the company include its positive reputation in the organic and whole-foods market, which means people know what to expect from its presentation of gluten-free products. The significant advantage is the client-oriented service that is the organization’s focus. As a result, the target population understands that the presentation will be engaging and valuable to their knowledge, and they will have the opportunity to become acquainted with the new gluten-free product line available in shops.
Weaknesses include the limited number of people interested in the new product line and significant confusion among the potential clients regarding the presented foods. In addition, producing and distributing organic and gluten-free products entails the financial burden of immaculate, sustainable production. Therefore, there are concerns regarding the economic justification of the production and distribution of gluten-free products.
Opportunities are tied to the overall trend towards healthy eating, and gluten-free products are essential to this lifestyle. The population is becoming more health-conscious and seeking organic and whole products. Therefore, the company has a significant opportunity. The presentation of gluten-free production is a way to increase public awareness regarding this healthy diet option. Consequently, the organization can improve its position to capitalize on the current market for more nutritious products or even to set new trends in healthy dieting.
Threats include a potential financial crisis in the American economy and competition with other companies with similar products. During an economic recession, people typically stop buying organic foods, including gluten-free items, because they cost more than other products in the local supermarket (Frohlich, 2023). As a result, the potential target audience for gluten-free products will decrease, affecting the company’s revenue. In addition, other market propositions offer organic and whole products to clients who might prefer other options to the discussed company. For instance, if these companies also start presentations at the same time as Cascadian Farm, people can choose their events and similar productions. The results of the analysis are shown in the table below.
Table 1. A SWOT Analysis Matrix.
Market Research
Industry
Growing food organically means avoiding artificial fertilizers and genetically engineered ingredients. While organic foods may not always be chemical-free, they will often have significantly less pesticide residue than those treated with synthetic chemicals. In 2020, U.S. organic retail sales exceeded $53 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 8% (Frohlich, 2023).
Sales in 2021 totaled $52 billion, a yearly 6-percent decrease when inflation was considered but a slight rise when it was not. The market for organic foods is projected to grow from US$176.51 billion in 2023 to US$553.13 billion in 2033 (Frohlich, 2023). The industry is expanding as customers become more health-conscious and embrace organic agriculture.
Target Audience
There is a large market of potential customers for selling gluten-free items. To put it simply, the target market includes everyone living in the areas where the shop is located, not just a specific subset. The company aims to retail packaged gluten-free products, including flour, in various sizes to local bakeries, supermarkets, and small shops, to distribute goods to people with celiac disease, and to help them learn about this type of food. Pastry enthusiasts seeking more healthful options and obese individuals looking to lose weight but unable to give up sweets, residing in the areas where the shops are located, are the target audience for the company and its presentation event.
Competitive Analysis
Cascadian Farm’s competitors are organizations that specialize in whole and organic products. They have similar values and policies regarding strategic marketing and planned events. They also have a standard product line because they promote a similar type of nutrition for people who care about their health and longevity. Among the companies that can be considered Cascadian Farm’s rivals are Hummingbird Wholesale, Plum Organics, Eden Foods Inc., and Organic Milling Inc. There are also other organizations with similar products and policies that operate mainly locally.
Strategic Marketing Evaluation
The strategic marketing goals for the year include increasing product and brand awareness among the general population, increasing revenue, and improving the quality of the services provided to customers. The critical marketing metrics for tracking success are primarily quantitative to ensure objectivity. For instance, it is possible to evaluate customer health score, turnover rate, customer lifetime value, new client acquisition cost, product adoption rate, feature utilization rate, conversion rate from trial to paid, and client retention ratio. Other measurements include the margin of gross profit and recurring revenue each month (Whitler, 2021). This information can be gathered from the company’s statistics and internal reports.
At the same time, client feedback is essential, and it is vital to use social networks to interact with customers and learn about their reactions. Cascadian Farm has pages on all social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Clients and potential new audiences can learn about such events, such as the presentation of gluten-free products, from these sources. In addition, company leaders can learn about customer needs and responses through these communication channels.
Budget
The amount of money each department receives from the general fund to carry out its strategic plans is called budget allocation. The budget allocation process divides departmental expenditures into authorized maximums for each resource, such as software, outside help from contractors or freelancers, or advertising for a marketing campaign. A set portion of a company’s funding designated for R&D or marketing and sales is an example of a budget allocation. It can be carried out monthly, quarterly, or annually, but fundamentally, budgeting is a constraint and optimization problem (Whitler, 2021).
As the manager follows the company’s growth trajectory, it is vital to maximize operational efficiency while being mindful of the limitations to ensure sufficient runway and team support. The strategic manager needs to focus on growth goals and accomplish them. The professional leader should begin by clearly defining the growth objective, then work backward to determine how much money is needed to achieve it. Budgets for sales and marketing are created based on cost per person and win rates or conversions when top-line revenue growth is the primary goal (Whitler, 2021).
Whichever method is used to create the budget must be linked to the objectives and target metrics. The ROI on investing more in marketing and sales might be greater when the manager considers growth objectives more crucial than hiring a new person to oversee the manufacturing of gluten-free foods, who might have a longer payout (Whitler, 2021). In other words, the manager should make the budget-planning solution based on the information available for the particular company and department.
References
Frohlich, X. (2023). From label to table: Regulating food in America in the information age. University of California Press.
Whitler, K. A. (2021). Positioning for advantage: Techniques and strategies to grow brand value. Columbia University Press.