Implement Evaluation Control

"Managing the marketing process requires the four marketing management functions shown in Figure 2.6—analysis, planning, implementation, and control. The company first develops companywide strategic plans and then translates them into marketing and other plans for each division, product, and brand. Through implementation, the company turns the plans into actions. Control consists of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities and taking corrective action where needed. Finally, marketing analysis provides information and evaluations needed for all of the other marketing activities."


Figure 2.6 Marketing: An Introduction

The quote and figure above is knowledge you need in order to understand marketing. It's a basic study that you must Analyze your idea, Plan your strategy, Implement your thoughts, and control your results with facts and data that backs your results.

Throughout this project I took each step and considered many possibilities, suggestions, and results, and took the ones that best suited myself and my ideals. I analyzed my notes about the ideal Food Truck, weighing what options I had and decided on the Ice Cream Truck. I planned my strategy, target consumer, and my creative content. Implemented my findings and used them. Finally I controlled it all by backing up my findings and choices with facts, and data that would sway my consumers and backers to my ideals.

Product

My product, the Creamy Dreamy Ice Cream Trucks, I consider a convenience product. "Convenience products are consumer products and services that customers usually buy frequently, immediately, and with a minimum of comparison and buying effort."  The reason I find it a convenience product is because I intend to fulfill all these needs with it. Ice cream is a food that is bought frequently, whether by kids, parents, elderly, etc. In fact, Ice Cream is the most sold dessert in America which is a great investment to the food truck industry.

The Creamy Dreamy Trucks will be a cool wave during those hot blistering summers. For like the traditional ice cream trucks we all know and love we will serve ice cool comfort, and unlike the traditional trucks we will be bigger, not only serving the brand favorite bars, but also the soft serve ice cream you normally have to go to restraunt locations to receive.

The photo I've included is just a brush of the ideas I have for the truck design. I would definitely prefer to use bright happy colors, soft pastels, and then of course the simple heart design  brushed here and there with our name Written straight across. With the name we will include pictures of happy customers, and labels that will list our plus points to the consumers: such as "ADA approved," "Sugar-Free Products sold," etc.

A debate has been made about the soft-serve ice cream. I've chewed over the idea of using brand name products such as Dreyers, but I prefer that we just make our own ice cream. One, we won't have to spread out the profits from distributing, and two we can control the ingredients used. On top of that it’s far too much hassle. “Marketing logistics—also called physical distribution—involves planning, implementing, and controlling the physical flow of goods, services, and related information from points of origin to points of consumption to meet customer requirements at a profit. In short, it involves getting the right product to the right customer in the right place at the right time.”(Marketing: An Introduction Pg.328)

Target Marketing Strategy

According to Marketing: An Introduction, "A marketing strategy consists of specific strategies for target markets, positioning, the marketing mix, and marketing expenditure levels. It outlines how the company intends to create value for target customers in order to capture value in return."

According to the American Diabetes Association; “When you have diabetes, you need to make day-to-day and often hour-to-hour decisions about treating blood glucose, exercise and healthy eating. Making those decisions is much easier if you keep track of that data, but tracking that data can be overwhelming.”At Creamy Dreamy, our main marketing point is our attention to the growing diabetic citizens, especially children.  “Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents; about 151,000 people below the age of 20 years have diabetes.” (http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/projects/cda2.htm)

As a person who has a whole family of Diabetics I often worry about their sugar intake, what they’re eating, how much, what’s good for them, etc. For the Ice-cream business this could put a big damper on sales if the right amounts of flavor and sugarless ingredients aren’t used. It’s a great benefit to have a menu that included sugar-free products. Sugar-free products aren't enough, however. We must remember that sugar-free doesn't necessarily mean fat-free or calories free. Which is why I also propose a portion size system which will control the amount of ice-cream, sugar-free or not, to help even further.

Our Menu and portioning is carefully selected not only as a method for helping diabetic patrons, but also as a way for parents and health concerned patrons to control the amounts of ice cream consumed. This strategy shows our company cares. "Many managers think that “doing things right” (implementation) is as important as, or even more important than, “doing the right things” (strategy). The fact is that both are critical to success, and companies can gain competitive advantages through effective implementation."(Marketing: An Introduction)

Truck Menu

(Red means offered Sugar-Free)

(Blue means offered in portioned sizes)

(Purple means offered in both)

Old Fashioned cones

Chocolate

Vanilla

Strawberry

Chocolate Chip

Neapolitan

Sherbet (lemon, cherry, lime, orange)

Mint Chocolate Chip

Cookie Dough

Shakes

Chocolate

Vanilla

Strawberry

Chocolate Chip

Neapolitan

Sherbet (lemon, cherry, lime, orange)

Mint Chocolate Chip

Cookie Dough

Pumpkin

Cheesecake (Vanilla with regular or Sugar-free cheesecake bites blended together)

Smoothies

Cherry

Orange

Strawberry

Tropical Wave

Blue Raspberry

Watermelon

Strawberry Lemonade

Lemonade

Good Humor

Reese’s bar

Oreo bar

Strawberry Shortcake bar

King Cone

Sundae

Oreo Cyclone Cone

Klondike Products

Original Klondike Bar

Klondike NASCAR Bar

Klondike Crunch

Oreo

Big Bear

ChocoTaco

Popsicle

Fudgesicle

Creamsicle

SnowCone

BigStick

Mega Missile

Firecracker

Scribbler

Pushpop

Lick-a-color

Hyperstripe

Cherry confusion Cup

Lightning Lemon Cup

Children’s favorites

Sponge Bob Bar

Dora Bar

Snoopy Bar

Tweety Bar

Spiderman Bar

WWE Bar

Nascar Bar

Due to travel access the Trailer Menu will consist of Children’s Favorites, Popcicles, Klondike, and Good Bars only. It will not offer the smoothies, original cones, or shakes.

Value and Pricing

Pricing and Value go hand in hand with my mission statement. The value of my product relies on the experience in which my consumers expect to get when buying my ice cream. Price covers not only the ice cream, but also the experience, the help, and the consideration my company offers with dealing with costumers. This theory is based on a quote from Makrting: An Introduction, for it states:"In the narrowest sense, price is the amount of money charged for a product or service. More broadly, price is the sum of all the values that customers give up in order to gain the benefits of having or using a product or service."  

With this in mind the company's products will be priced on not only it's target customer, but it's competition as well. Our main competition is not only Brand named stores such as Baskin Robbins and Cold Stone, but also the family owned business trucks that charges a lot less than any normal ice cream stand. Market an Introduction reads,  "If consumers perceive that the company’s product or service provides greater value, the company can charge a higher price. If consumers perceive less value relative to competing products, the company must either charge a lower price or change customer perceptions to justify a higher price." Our truck will have to match our value in order to compete against these lower costs the family owned businesses offer, and stay low enough so it's prices are better than the high marked prices of Brand names.

For traditional ice cream truck novelties and bars, we'll stick to low cost market pricing set by the traditional ice cream trucks, but raise it to match our truck's value. For Example, where a normal Klondike Bar would be anywhere between $1.00-$1.25 we shall raise it a quarter more $1.25-$1.50. 

For the soft served ice cream we will not be matching or raising the prices, but instead we'll be lowering them to compete against the high quality stores.We will compete not only with our lower pricing, but our diverting styles as well. Cold Stone is known for it's unique serving by mixing nuts, fruits and candy into their ice cream on a frozen granite stone ledge, hence the name. This style, is the company's high market value point. Ours will rely heavily on not only the taste of our ice cream, but a cool and comforting atmosphere we will provide at our various locations.

SWOT

The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) outline of a company is a strategy builder for outlining the plus and minuses of the company itself. “Strengths include internal capabilities, resources, positive situational factors that may help the company to serve its customers and achieve its objectives. Weaknesses include internal limitations and negative situational factors that may interfere with the company’s performance. Opportunities are favorable factors or trends in the external environment that the company may be able to exploit to its advantage. And threats are unfavorable external factors or trends that may present challenges to performance.” 

SWOT Outline for Creamy Dreamy

•Strengths

•ADA Support

•New company means broader areas to expand, changing names, slogans, or designs to better our chances.

•Weaknesses

•Diets, health programs, obesity

•High cost of low sugar ingredients

•Opportunities

•Expandable: Parks, Stadiums, & other large tourist areas

•There will always be someone who wants ice cream

•Child & Parent target Consumers

•Threats

•Well known names like Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, and Ben& Jerry’s. Do people want well-known Brand Names? 

As listed above, the SWOT outline for Creamy Dreamy is no different. To just summarize let’s skim over a few of the listed traits. For strengths I’ve listed ADA support. ADA, or the American Diabetes Association, is not only a company that alerts about Diabetes awareness, but researches and funds for Diabetic treatment and cure. To have their support on our “serving plan” would show not only the care for our customers well being, but also support that our items and plans are legit to the consumer eye.

For Weaknesses I’ve listed the common diets and health issues. There will always be people who will look at ice cream and scream “oh god the calories,” or “do you know how much sugar is in that?” This doesn’t just apply to diabetics but real health nuts, lactose intolerants, and obese consumers on a diet plan. Now our “serving plan” is supposed to help rectify this notion, but it is still a high risk what with the amount of obese and weight concerned Americans that are in our society today.

  For Opportunities we have our target consumers, which happen to be the highest growing collection of consumers up to date, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. I believe that the child and parent consumers are higher target because of a theory I like to call the “I want a pony” theory. A child has no sense of money handling, all they know how to do is want. They want toys, they want food, they want new clothes, this and that and the parent is responsible on drawing the line of what the child can have and cannot have. Luckily for us, ice Cream is the highest selling desert product in the entire United States.

Finally, threats, and our biggest concern is that customers will want brand names they’re familiar with and names that they know they can trust in the ice cream business. As a new company just breaking out we have to break the mold, offer something new, and yet give the customers what they want. We have to compete directly to companies like Baskin Robbins, and Cold Stone who have been favorite by America for YEARS.

Mission Statement

My Mission Statement: Make kids feel like adults, and adults feel like kids.

According to Marketing: An introduction, "The aim of marketing is to affect how customers think about and behave toward the organization and its market offerings. But to affect the whats, whens, and hows of buying behavior, marketers must first understand the whys." The point of my mission statement is to expand on the feelings of our consumers. Creamy Dreamy is supposed to represent a new type of Ice Cream truck, or Ice Cream man, by awakening the thoughts and feelings of our consumers to their childhood state. Kids will want us because we offer the Ice Cream truck experience. What is that experience? It's the feeling a kid gets when they hear the familiar jingle, and are excited for the opportunity to buy their own ice cream.

Let us walk into the mind of a kid for a moment:

• "I've saved up my allowance all week, I finally get the chance to spend it on what I want. I want Ice Cream."
• "Mom, can I have a dollar for the Ice Cream man?"

These and other types of scenarios lead up to the same thing. Kids want to buy their own ice cream. Why? It's because when they pay for something themselves they're taking that first step into adult hood, they want to feel and be treated like an adult, a real customer.  At Creamy Dreamy we want them to not only feel like adults, but we want to treat them like adults.

As for the adults we want them to stop thinking like adults. We want them to remember those days out in the park, or waiting outside their cozy little neighborhoods and remember what it felt like to be a kid. We don't want them to think, "I can just buy a box from the store, it's cheaper," or "I shouldn't, way too much sugar and carbs." We want our adult consumers to be able to say, "That brings me back," or "Why not, it's been too long." All the while still have their best interests with our sugar free products and portion sizes.

Week 6 EOC: Me x 3 products

There are very few products I am religious with. I am constantly browsing and looking for products that fit my budget and my needs. I look at products for their price, comfort, and usage. How could this product benefit me? What makes it different then the other products? 

 “Suave” Shampoo hasn’t always been known as the high quality shampoo used in salons, and to treat hair like a medication. I use Suave for the price, scent, and the amount of shampoo I can buy. I have long thick curly hair and it takes a lot of shampoo and conditioner to thoroughly clean it, and frankly if I used brands like “Pantene” or “Tresseme`” it would be much too expensive.

Another factor is my brand in clothes.  “Just my size” is sold in any Wal-Mart or Target, and is made specifically for real and plus size women. Their styles aren’t enviable, and their use of fabrics isn’t varied. However, for a big woman, on a budget they sell comfortable, everyday clothes that I find myself wearing everyday and rely on. I buy expensive blouses, and skirts on occasion but rarely wear them as much as I wear “Just my size.”

If there is one thing I’m thoroughly picky on, and that I do buy a little more than I should is Bath and Body works body sprays and lotions. I’m a girl who doesn’t like stick deodorant. If I’m in a hurry I’d rather grab a small bottle of body spray and sprits myself to get rid of my odor. Deodorant has been rumored to cause skin irritation, and even cancer, and frankly it feels weird on my skin. Scented lotion not only smells better, but feels so much better on my skin, like I’m bathing in vanilla, or strawberries or whatever scent I feel like being that day. Bath and Body works sprays and lotions vary in the fruity, perfume, and the wild exotic scents that women love to be surrounded in, and men love on their women. I’m working on using their soaps more often as well, but until I can afford it it’s generic soap, and bath and body lotion!