ChocoSol: Real-World International Marketing Plan for India

This report examines ChocoSol's international marketing plan, focusing on entering the Indian market. It begins with a PESTEL analysis, evaluating political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors impacting market entry. The report then outlines a marketing strategy, including market entry approaches, distribution channel choices, and push/pull dynamics. Furthermore, it details a below-the-line promotional mix tailored for a limited budget. The report also addresses organizational challenges faced by ChocoSol. The marketing strategy focuses on word-of-mouth, Internet marketing, and relationship marketing, with distribution channel choices considering the number and types of buyers, buying habits, and market size. The promotional mix includes sales promotion, direct mail, and public relations. The report concludes with a reflection on the challenges encountered, offering a comprehensive overview of ChocoSol's strategic approach to international market expansion in India.

Real world International
marketing plans in
response to the marketing
environment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
PESTEL analysis before entering into potential market of an Asian country and reason for
choosing this country..................................................................................................................1
Develop an outline marketing strategy for the chosen market considering market entry,
distribution channel choices and push or pull dynamics ............................................................3
Develop an outline below the line promotional mix for business .............................................5
Critically reflect on organisational challenges faced by ChocoSol ...........................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is defined as the activities of a company for promoting the selling or buying of
a service or product. These activities include selling, advertising and delivering products to
customers or other businesses (Chawla, Deepak, and Neena SondhiColley,2015). It is important
for the companies to promote and advertise their products in order to create strong brand image
and reputation. In the following report a company naming ChocoSol is considered. The
ChocoSol is an artisanal bean to bar chocolate producer. This company is situated in Toronto and
the ChocoSol chocolate is produced by blending forest garden cacao varieties which are sourced
from indigenous communities in Dominican Republic, Mexico, Ecuador and Guatemala. This
chocolate company believes in supporting small plot intensive forest garden cacao and it is an
example of regenerative agro-ecological food production. This report consists of appropriate
framework used by this company in entering into a potential market of India. It includes the
marketing strategy for entering this market and promotional mix for doing business under the
given budget. In the end some organisational challenges are discussed.
PESTEL analysis before entering into potential market of an Asian country and reason for
choosing this country
The PESTLE analysis is a tool which is helpful in analysing and monitoring the macro
environmental factors that affects the performance of an organisation (PESTLE Analysis before
entering Indian market, 2019). Therefore, PESTLE analysis is a framework that is used by
ChocoSol for scanning and analysing the external macro environment by focusing on various
factors like political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal ( Fretwell and
Bourdeau, 2017). These factors are described below-
Political Factors
India is one of the largest democracies in the world and it runs a federal form of
government. The political environment is influenced by different factors like government
policies, ideologies of different political parties and interests of politicians. Due to this, the
business environment of India is affected by such political factors. In India, the taxation system
is well developed so ChocoSol will not have any problem in entering into India's marketplace.
Other taxes like service tax, income tax and sales tax are given by the Union Government which
must be considered by ChocoSol for successfully doing business in India. This company
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considers other taxes like octroi and utilities which are taken by the local bodies. The Indian
Government encourages business by a variety of programs and it welcomes organisations from
different countries to expand their business in India.
Economical Factors
The Indian economy is stable since 1991 as the industrial reform policies were formed.
According to this policy, there is a constant improvement in environmental economy of India by
the reduction in liberalisation of foreign capital, industrial licensing, formation of FIBP i.e.
Forum for International Trade Training (Farrugia, 2017). The Gross domestic Production of
India is improving every year. ChocoSol will be earning profits if it establishes business of it's
chocolates in India. Indian market is vast and there is a huge variety of customers, this will help
ChocoSol to increase sales of chocolates and coffee in India.
Social Factors
The social factors are defined as the change in trends that affects business environment.
India has a population of around 1.2 billion people and there are more than 70% population
which falls under the age group of 15 and 65. There are structure with percentage according to
age. This includes flexibility in work attitudes, income distribution and work. Therefore, social
factors are to be analysed by ChocoSol before launching business in India.
Technological Factors
Technology affects product development and in India fresh cost cutting processes are
introduced. India offers 3G and 4G technologies that enhances the technological projects in
India. It has the strongest IT sectors in the world and software upgrades and advancement.
ChocoSol company is using Agroecology farming for the production of it's product. Therefore, it
can enhance it's technology of producing chocolate beans by adopting some new techniques used
in India.
Environmental Factors
There are a number of changes that are faced by Indian business environment. The
quality of air in India is adversely affected by urbanisation and industrialisation (Jovanov-
Marjanova, Davcev and Boeva, 2016). This affects health of people and due to this, there has
been establishment of noise control, pressure groups, regulations on waste disposal and waste
control.
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Legal Factors
Legal factors include different rules and regulations imposed by government for the
companies running business in the country. In India there are different legal rules to be followed
for smooth functioning of business such as organisational securities, consumer protection, tax,
employment, contract, commercial immigration and industry specific regulations and laws.
ChocoSol has to focus on all these legal rules and regulations of India before entering into it's
marketplace.
After this PESTLE analysis, it is concluded that Indian market has several opportunities
by which ChocoSol can earn profits. The most important factor it it's variety of customers. There
are sorted rules and regulations for new organisations to do business.
Develop an outline marketing strategy for the chosen market considering market entry,
distribution channel choices and push or pull dynamics
A marketing strategy of a business is overall planning for meeting the desired needs of
customers of product or service. The marketing strategy of a company consists of value
proposition, key marketing messages and information of target customers (Nguyen, 2015). This
strategy is helpful in informing about the marketing plan which is a document that consists of
timing and types of marketing activities. The marketing strategies are innovative which focuses
on encouraging target population for buying specific services or products. There are following
steps which are taken before choosing right marketing strategy for business-
Define the target population- This is the most important step before starting a new
business. This gives proper demographics that helps in selection of appropriate plan for the
business. The target group of people are those who are focused for product selling and this is
done by advertisement, campaigns, events, etc. ChocoSol can advertise it's chocolates and coffee
in India by using banners, posters, social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Test your audience- The second step is testing of buying to test the audience. If Chocosol
knows the buying behaviour of target audience then it will be able to select appropriate
marketing strategy. The company creates hypothetical process of buying to test it's audience.
Consider marketing strategies- Marketing strategy is made by analysing the
demographics, knowledge, behaviour and attitude of the customers.
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Evaluate these strategies- A good marketing strategy affects sales and profits of
company. When the company will evaluate the best marketing strategy for it's business, it is
helpful for it to assess, apply and implement this strategy.
There are different types of marketing strategies that are used for promoting and
advertising the products in marketplace such as Paid Advertising,Cause Marketing, Relationship
Marketing, Undercover Marketing ,Word of Mouth ,Internet Marketing ,Transactional Marketing
and Diversity Marketing (Olafeso, 2016). ChocoSol is a company that has mission of crafting
revolutionary foods which are good for mind, soil and body. It is dedicated towards offering
quality products to people. The kind of marketing strategy used by ChocoSol for entering Indian
market is word of mouth, Internet marketing or relationship marketing. Word of mouth
marketing always work for a positive response towards a company. If chocolates of ChocoSole
are liked by people, they will tell their friends or family to try it. Internet marketing is also
known as cloud marketing and this is done over internet. The products of ChocoSole i.e.
chocolate or coffee can be promoted to Indian customers by using social networking sites like
Instagram, Facebook, etc. Relationship marketing emphasises on customer building and it
enhances customer loyalty and relationship towards products.
Market entry strategy is defined as a planned distribution and delivery process of services
or products in a new target market. In context of ChocoSol, it will plan activities related to
launch it's chocolates and other products in Indian market. In the initial stage, ChocoSol will
consider the cost of marketing, barriers to entry, sales and delivery and expected result of
entering into new market.
The distribution channel choices for Chocosol are essential to measure as it gives the
estimation of profit to be earned by the company. ChocoSol undergoes market analysis for
choosing distribution channel. The market considerations are listed below-
Number of Buyers- When the number of buyers are more then it is effective to take the
services of middlemen for the distribution of products or goods. On the other hand, the
distribution of products must be done directly through manufacturer when the number of buyers
are less (Ozuem, 2016). As India has a large number of target customers, ChocoSol will take
services of middlemen for the distribution of chocolates in Indian market.
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Types of Buyers - There are basically two types of buyers such as general buyers and
industrial buyers. When buyers are more from general category, then there can be more
middlemen. Moreover, in context of industrial buyers, the number of middlemen can be less.
Buying Habits- An organisation takes services of middlemen when financial position
does not allow for selling products on credit to customers who have habit of buying the products
on credit.
Buying quantity- This is important for the company or manufacturer to depend on
services of middlemen when products are bought for less quantity.
Size of Market- The market area of the product is organised and fairly scattered. The
manufacturer take help of middlemen.
The push and pull strategy of corporate helps in identifying two solutions that are
presented as alternatives. These are applied to various logics which support relationship between
business and it's required demand (Ramli, Nur Suhail,2017). A push strategy is the development
of processes which can be produced by company for searching purchasers. On the other hand,
pull strategy refers to processes which start from market and move towards the company. The
needs are stimulated by market and this forces companies to develop a product as a result of pull
action of demand.
Develop an outline below the line promotional mix for business
The promotional mix is defined as part of one the 4 P's of the marketing mix. It includes
sales promotion, advertising, personal selling and public relations. Promotional mix is used for
approaching the goals and objectives of the company. ChocoSol can keep control over the
promotional efforts by using below the line promotion technique. As the budget of company is
not very high, below the line promotion will be best for ChocoSol to promote it's brand in Indian
market. This will cost less to the company. Different kind of below the line promotion are sales
promotion, direct marketing and direct mail, public relations(PR), sponsorship, personal selling,
branding and merchandising, packaging, telemarketing and trade fairs and exhibitions. The ways
of below the line marketing used by ChocoSol are described below-
Sales Promotion- This is a temporary method which improves sales by attracting new
customers and also encouraging the present customers to buy more products. ChocoSol can use
point-of-sales promotion. This includes promotional activities that emphasizes on customers in
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retail outlets like special displays, demonstrations, tastings and sales presentations. These are
combined with offers and vouchers offered by the company.
Direct Mail- This is a direct marketing technique that involves the delivery of
promotional materials to customers at homes or company premises. Direct mail is effective in
targeting customers geographically. This is used to convey an important information to
customers and this is a cost effective process when customers are targeted at a certain market
segment.
Public Relation- A good public relation promotes the company by using positive
information like brochures, annual reports and newsletters.
Trade Fair and Exhibitions- Trade fairs provides an opportunity for companies to meet
consumers as well as trade. The exhibitions provides firms for showcasing new products in the
new marketplace.
The budget of company for establishing business in India is £100,000. The following table shows
budget that ChocoSol uses in expansion of marketplace of India-
Processes/Activities Amount
Online advertising £8000
Catalogues and brochures £14000
Conventions £20000
Trade shows £6000
Print Advertising £9000
Radio £5000
Promotional Items £4000
Publications £14000
Magazine advertisement £5000
Research and Development £15000
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Critically reflect on organisational challenges faced by ChocoSol
There are various organisational challenges including structural challenges faced by
ChocoSol in expanding it's market share and becoming a truly global and holistic marketing
organisation. The marketing strategy of the company consists of value proposition of company.
Key marketing messages and information on target customers. The marketing strategy is based
on the organisational structure as there should be an effective organisational structure to be
implemented for strategy implementation. ChocoSol uses the functional organisational structure
and this kind of organisational structure is a hierarchical structure in which people are grouped
on the basis of the area of specialisation. The workers are supervised by a functional manager
with expertise. In this kind of structure, people are classified on the basis of function they
perform. The organisational chart of functional structure describes president, vice president, sales
department, customer service and administration. Every department has a head who is
responsible for the operations and performance of every individual. This organisational structure
has disadvantage to the company as communication is weak among the departments and this
creates poor inter department coordination. This also declines the innovation and flexibility. In
this scenario, employees have less concern and knowledge of events outside the department. This
creates obstacles to cooperation and communication. On the other hand, a matrix organisational
structure is a company structure in which reporting relationships are organised as a grid or
matrix and not in the traditional hierarchy. The main advantage of matrix organisational structure
is resources are used efficiently as equipments and experts are shared across projects. The
products and projects are formally coordinated within the functional departments. In this
scenario, employees are in contact with several people and this helps in sharing of information
and making effective decisions for the company. In case of ChocoSol, matrix organisational
structure should be used so that there is no hierarchy of organisational structure. The matrix
structure gives an opportunity to direct contact between the top level management and low level
management. This structure will help workers to talk about issues and problems faced by them
while starting market share in India.
CONCLUSION
Marketing of any organisation is important as it helps in increasing the brand image in
front of others. Promotions and advertising are important while entering into new marketplace.
An organisation analyses PESTLE analysis before entering into new market. A company
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formulates effective marketing strategy as it helps in creating customer loyalty and awareness.
Promotional mix is defined as one of the P's of marketing mix and it consists of personal selling,
public relations and sales promotion. This is used as a tool for communicating to the target
markets and producing organisational sales goals and profits. The organisational structure of a
company should be effective for growth and development of country while going global.
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