ICMS - RET230 Digital Marketing Plan for Flour and Stone Bakery

This report presents a digital marketing plan for Flour and Stone Bakery, an Australian establishment known for its classic pastries and assorted cookies, particularly gluten-free options. The plan begins with an introduction to digital marketing and its broad scope, followed by a situational analysis using SWOT to assess the bakery's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It identifies target audiences, including health-conscious consumers and those with dietary restrictions. The proposed strategy involves social networking, search engine marketing, and e-commerce, with specific recommendations for utilizing platforms like Facebook, Google AdWords, Amazon and Alibaba. The action plan emphasizes research, strategy clarification, and implementation, including a content plan for engaging customers online. The report concludes that digital marketing offers a viable path for Flour and Stone to expand its business and strengthen its customer base.

Running Head: Digital Marketing 1
Digital Marketing

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Executive summary:
At initial level, digital marketing is considered as term which refers delivery of advertisement
through different digital channels such as search engines, websites, social media, email, and
mobile apps, etc. However, scope off this term is wide and it includes various marketing
activities. In other words, it is considered as an umbrella term which consist all the efforts off the
person in context online marketing. Business organizations use these digital channels to connect
with their current and prospective customers.
The reality in this context is people spend more time on online activities in comparison of old
times. Concept related to purchase and selling is also changed with the time, as now people
prefer to purchase and sell things online. Marketing is also used for making strong connection
with the audience in the right place and right time. This report states the digital marketing plan
for Flour and stones bakery.

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Contents
Executive summary:....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................................4
Background:................................................................................................................................................4
Situational analysis:.....................................................................................................................................5
Proposed target audiences, strategy & goals:.............................................................................................6
Action plan:.................................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion:..................................................................................................................................................7
References:..................................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction:
Digital marketing is considered as the promotion of products or brands through different forms
of electronic media. Generally, digital marketing is referred as online marketing, internet
marketing or web marketing. Digital marketing is a most developing trend from last few years
but still it has not been very well defined. Digital marketing is the approach that promotes
advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click. However, this definition of
digital marketing is too narrow because digital marketing is the concept which has very wide
scope as it includes e-mail, RSS, voice broadcast, fax broadcast, blogging, podcasting, video
streams, wireless text messaging, and instant messaging, etc.
It must be noted that, digital marketing is the concept which does not include traditional forms of
marketing such as print media, TV, etc. This report highlights the digital marketing plan of Flour
and stone bakery for the purpose of selling gluten free assorted cookies. Structure of this report
includes situation Analysis, proposed target audiences, strategy, goals, and action plan (including
content plan & implementation plan. Lastly paper is concluded with brief conclusion.
Background:
Flour and Stone was established in November 2011 which serve an old fashioned vanilla cake
and also some hand iced gingerbread cookies to its customers. Since that period they extended
their range and include classic inspired pastries which are baked in rustic way. Presently, there
bakeries serves large number products to their customers such as Nostalgic lemon drizzle cakes,
a fine apple tart straight off a French baking sheet and a Lamington. This bakery mainly focuses
on the quality of its products and also their contribution to the community. This bakery also
serves assorted cookies of different varieties to its customers (Flour and Stone, 2018).
Generally, bakeries needs and exceptional product or some sort of specialty to gain loyal
customers, but online marketing is an exceptional product which automatically increases the
customer base of the bakery at efficient cost. There are number of small business who does not
understand working and trend of the online marketing. However, a web marketing campaign
requires an effective plan to work efficiently, and proper strategies ensure this (Foster, n.d.).

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Situational analysis:
A situational analysis defined the potential customers, examines predictable growth, evaluates
competitors and also makes a realistic assessment of the business. It mainly includes targeting of
particular objective related to the business and also identifying the factors which support or delay
those objectives. This assessment is generally called as SWOT analysis which stands for
Strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats. It must be noted that, strength and weakness
involve internal evaluation, and opportunities and threats rely on external analysis (Lake, 2017).
This section of the report provides SWOT analysis for the Floor and Stone bakery in Australia:
Strength- strength of this bakery is depending on the fact that this bakery serves wide range of
product for the purpose of meeting the requirements of the large number of customers. We have
competency in the art facility and also have equipment’s which help us in meeting the demand of
our customers even if demand increased by triple numbers overnight. Following are the strengths
of the flour and stone bakery:
 Bakers of this bakery possess expertise and authenticity.
 Bakery served handcrafted and fresh baked cookies which are completely free from
gluten and considered as healthy.
 Bakery has established markets in Australia.
 Training is provided to bakers, managers, and other team members on continuous basis.
 There is large variety of baked cookies served by bakery such as gluten free cookies, low-
fat cookies, etc.
Weakness- location choose by bakery for setting its business is their weakness, as location
choose by business is not able to attract too much customers. There is one more weakness that is
lack of marketing which means bakery fails to make proper advertisements of its business.
Another weakness for the bakery is competition from existing and unorganized sector (Yum
gluten free, n.d.).
. Some of the weakness of Flour and Stone bakery are sated below:
 Location on which bakery is situated.

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 Bakery lost its market share and margin because of the increasing competition from
unorganized sector.
 Low awareness of the brands.
Opportunity- increasing trend of digital marketing provide large number of opportunities to the
bakery such as management can attract more customers with this new technology and also use
this technology for improving products and services. Organization can opt online methods for
strengthen its customer base, and it can also contact with the companies and restaurants.
Threats- the biggest threat for this bakery is the high competition from the existing bakeries and
new entrants. Following are the threats for the flour and stones bakery in Australia:
 Bakery faces competition not only from national bakeries but also from international
chains.
 Changes occurred in government regulations related to the domestic market and these
changes are not favorable.
 Changes occurred in the taste of consumers (profitable Venture, 2017).
Proposed target audiences, strategy & goals:
During the period of 2015, global market related to the gluten free products was valued almost
$3,126 million, and experts forecasted that this market of Australia will reach $5,279 million by
2022. Generally, diet related to the gluten free product is preferred by those people who are
suffering from the health issues such as celiac and improper digestion because it cause issue in
the small intestine. Gluten free cookies help the consumers to resolve the problem of cholesterol
and improve their energy level, and digestive systems. Gluten free cookies not only provide taste
to the consumers but also them in losing their weight (Satsangi, 2016).
Gluten free industry witnessed number of changes and thee changes result in market expansion,
all these things make it compulsory for the organization to change its market strategy while
targeting the consumers. In this context Flour and stone and make some necessary changes in its
strategy such as now they can mainly focus on the consumers suffering from celiac disease
(Thomas, 2013). Bakery can target those consumers also who are aware about their health and
focus on losing their weight. One more category of consumers is also there such as those

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consumers who want to purchase gluten free cookies because of their nutritious value. Therefore,
it is clear that flour and stone bakery can target consumers with health problems and health
freakier (The Gluten Free agency, n.d.).
As the Australian culture, people used to consume cookies and also like to gift the cookies to
their near and dear ones, but because of the increasing health awareness they prefer. Flour and
stone bakery can mainly target those customers who are aware about their health and prefer
healthy food such as families, diabetic patients, health freakier, etc. In other words, bakery
mainly focuses on each and every segment of the market which is conscious for their health.
Bakeries can also contact with the restaurants and large hotels which want to serve healthy
delights to their customers.
Goal:
Bakery wants to spend their business through online mode, and reach to the large number of
customers. In other words, Flour and stone bakery wants to expand their business and wants to
strengthen their customer base by using the advantages and opportunities provided by online
methods.
Action plan:
Content plan:
Following are the steps to develop digital marketing strategy for the purpose developing digital
marketing plan for gluten free assorted cookies sold by Flour and Stone bakery in Australia:
Research clarification- the first and most important step in this regard is conducting research,
which means organization must conduct adequate research for the purpose of creating the base
for digital marketing strategy. In this context, Flour and stone bakery can conduct competitive
and situational analysis such as SWOT analysis, understanding the needs of buyer, etc.
Strategy clarification- another important step in his regard is clarification of strategy, which
means bakery must choose one strategy which defines the goals of the bakery, specialties, brand
competitiveness, etc. Flour and Stone can adopt two of these strategies.

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 Social Networking- management of the bakery can create account on the social media,
and advertise their products on these accounts. These accounts help the bakery to join
large number of people and groups. The most important site in this regard is Facebook.
 Search Engine Marketing- bakery can start their campaign through online ad programs
such as Google AdWords and Yahoo Advertising Solutions, and this is considered as
another useful strategy because they help the bakery in target particular key words and
locations.
E-commerce- another most important aspect of digital marketing is E-commerce, as stated it is
the term which referred buying and selling of goods and services on different online platforms.
Bakery can use different sites for selling their assorted cookies and gluten free products such as
Alibaba and Amazon. Both of these platforms are considered as leading platforms for selling the
goods and services. There are number of vendors who use these platforms for strengthen their
customer base. Following are the advantages and disadvantage of these leading sites:
Advantages Dis-advantages
Alibaba and amazon provide large number of
opportunities to their registered vendors such
as it provides access to large number of
customers and also help the bakery in
identifying more targeting markets.
Cost related to these platforms is high and it
automatically lowers the profit margin of the
bakery.
Both the platforms ensures advertisement and
popularity of the products because they directly
reach the customers through their apps and
websites.
High level of competition, as there is umber of
domestic and international bakers who serve
similar products to the customers which
increase the competition level.
It helps the bakery in delivering their products
to large number of customers by ensuring safe
delivery options.
Chances of success in this mode of selling are
accompanied with large number of regulatory
regimes which waste both time and cost of the
bakery.

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Implementation of plan:
Bakery must follow below stated steps to implement above stated plan:
 Conduct proper research in identifying the base of the chosen strategy such as targeted
market, customers’ requirements, etc.
 Ensure proper management of plan by taking expert advice and continuous monitoring
(Trends & Insight, n.d.).
Conclusion:
After considering the above facts, it can be said that flour and Stone is the bakery which is opting
for business expansion by marketing their products through Digital marketing. Digital marketing
is considered as the promotion of products or brands through different forms of electronic media.
Generally, digital marketing is referred as online marketing, internet marketing or web
marketing. Through above stated digital plan, Flour and Stone can attract their customers and
ensure market expansion.
References:
Flora and Stone, (2018). About Us. Retrieved on 15th April 2018 from:
https://www.flourandstone.com.au/pages/about-us.
Foster, D. Online Marketing Strategies for Bakeries. Retrieved on 15th April 2018 from:
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/online-marketing-strategies-bakeries-28777.html.
free Products Market by Type (Gluten-free Baby Food, Gluten-free Pasta, Gluten-free Bakery
Products, and Gluten-free Ready Meals) - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry
Forecast, 2014-2022. Retrieved on 15th April 2018 from:
https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/gluten-free-products-market.
Hudson, (2017). 7 Digital Marketing Strategies That Work: A Complete Guide. Retrieved on 15th
April 2018 from: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/digital-strategy-guide.
Lake, L. (2017). Situational Analysis. Retrieved on 15th April 2018 from:
https://www.thebalance.com/purpose-and-elements-of-a-situational-analysis-2295754.
Profitable Venture, (2017). Bakery Business Plan – SWOT Analysis Sample. Retrieved on 15th
April 2018 from: http://www.profitableventure.com/bakery-business-plan-swot-analysis/.
Satsangi, S. (2017). Gluten- Gluten Free 4 U. about Us. Retrieved on 15th April 2018 from:
https://glutenfree4u.com.au/about-us/.

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Thomas, J. (2013). Gluten free: The marketing and regulatory environment. Retrieved on 15th
April 2018 from: https://www.just-food.com/management-briefing/the-marketing-and-
regulatory-environment_id123021.aspx.
Trends & Insight. 5 Steps to a Powerful Digital Marketing Strategy. Retrieved on 15th April 2018
from: https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/5-steps-powerful-digital-marketing-
strategy.
Yum gluten free. A guide to the latest gluten free bakeries. Retrieved on 15th April 2018 from:
http://yumglutenfree.com.au/products/gluten-free-food/a-guide-to-the-latest-gluten-free-
bakeries/.