Strategic Marketing Planning for Hopkinson's Coffee Case Study Report

This report presents a strategic marketing plan for Hopkinson's Coffee Company, analyzing its current market position and providing recommendations for improvement. The report begins with an introduction to strategic marketing planning and then delves into a case study of Hopkinson's, examining its internal and external factors. It evaluates the company's current standing using relevant marketing theories and frameworks, including market segmentation, marketing mix, relationship marketing, marketing orientation, and product life cycle theory. Based on this analysis, the report recommends a marketing strategy, identifying potential risks and challenges. The report also includes a critical reflection on a selected theory/framework, assessing its strengths and limitations in the context of both the Hopkinson's and Nespresso case studies. The assignment aims to apply marketing theories, frameworks, and concepts to analyze and evaluate the current position of Hopkinson's Coffee Company and make recommendations for a marketing strategy, identifying any risks or challenges associated with the recommendations.

Running head: STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING
Strategic Marketing Planning for Hopkinson’s Case Study
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Question 1: Report.....................................................................................................................3
1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................3
1.2 Discussion........................................................................................................................3
1.2.1 Brief Idea of the Case Study of Hopkinson..............................................................3
1.2.2 Analysis and Evaluation of the Current Position in which Hopkinson finds itself
with Relevant Theories, Frameworks and Concepts..........................................................3
1.2.3 Suitable Recommendations for a Marketing Strategy with Identification of Risks
and Challenges associated with the Recommendations.....................................................5
1.3 Conclusion........................................................................................................................6
Question 2: Critical Reflection...................................................................................................7
2.1 Selection of One Theory or Framework applied in Hopkinson Case Study....................7
2.2 Assessment of the Strengths and Limitations of the Selected Theory or Framework for
Strategic Marketing Planning for Hopkinson Case Study and Nespresso Case Study..........7
References..................................................................................................................................8
Appendix..................................................................................................................................10

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Question 1: Report
1.1 Introduction
Strategic marketing planning includes setting of all types of objectives and goals, after
successful analysis of external and internal business factors, planning and deployment of
different products as well as track the progress (McDONALD, 2016). Different tactics and
goals of every marketing campaign are being established with the help of such distinct plans.
Strategic marketing planning is responsible for providing direction and purpose to the
marketing efforts and hence providing a way for measuring success (Wood and Jobber,
2016). A strategic marketing plan can also be referred to as a static document, which gets
tossed as soon as it is being written. This type of plan is a document, which provides
guidance to the work and could be regularly updated for reflecting the changes within the
business, competition and even the customers (McDonald, 2015). The procedure to create a
strategic marketing plan is vital for the respective business as the organizational management
would be able to clarify the goals and then recognize the factors for strengthening their
strategy. The following report outlines a brief discussion on the case study of Hopkinson with
few significant theories, frameworks and concepts and suitable recommendations for the
organization.
1.2 Discussion
1.2.1 Brief Idea of the Case Study of Hopkinson
Hopkinson’s Coffee Company is being currently managed by the sixth generation of
the Hopkinson family. The organization owns a coffee shop that sells tea, coffee, cakes and
soft drinks. The coffee sold in the shop is from coffee beans that are being roasted every
morning by Tom Hopkinson as well as his team in the shop (Mintel. 2018). The management
has resisted take away coffee and tea as they are worried about the reduction in the quality of
their services. The producers of this specific organization are small family firms ad Tom
sources his own coffee. They are catering to university students and staff as well as tourists.
However, the shop has suffered from a drop in their trade at Christmas and to a less extent in
the summer, when maximum students go home. The overall decorum of the shop is extremely
simplistic with wooden floors, basic rustic decoration and wooden benches. Tom has an
expectation that the cellar would offer opportunities for building sales revenue as well as
profit, after attracting a new target audience. They have even won several awards for their
coffee in the UK Barista Championships (Mintel. 2018). For competing with the popular
coffee brands such as Starbucks and Caffe Nero, they would require to start building their
sales revenue and profit. However, Tom is concerned about any type of trade barriers would
push up their prices and is even affected by the global production fluctuation. As a result, it is
needed to develop a proactive marketing strategy for addressing several issues.
1.2.2 Analysis and Evaluation of the Current Position in which Hopkinson finds itself
with Relevant Theories, Frameworks and Concepts
The organization of Hopkinson’s Coffee Company has been providing some of the
most significant and noteworthy services and products to their customers (West, Ford and
Ibrahim, 2015). Although, they had been gaining several advantages and benefits, it is needed
for them to understand and highlight the issues and complexities faced by them. For this
particular purpose, a suitable and effective plan for marketing is required for the business.
Some of the most significant and important theories and frameworks that are needed to be
considered while creating a strategic marketing plan for Hopkinson (Moutinho and Vargas-
Sanchez, 2018). The description of these theories are provided in the following paragraphs:
i) Market Segmentation: The first and the foremost theory that is needed to be
considered while creating a marketing strategy for the organization of Hopkinson is market

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segmentation (Meidan, Moutinho and Chan, 2015). The products are eventually designed for
solving the issues of their customers as well as fulfilling their requirements. This market
segmentation is the craft to present the organizational product to different segments, which
want as well as afford it and also has knowledge about the process to use it. The marketers or
business owners, who recognize the segment, on the basis of demographics, desires and
behaviours could eventually concentrate on the marketing effort for the consumers, who has
the potential to purchase (Ratten and Madichie, 2016). They could also design their strategy
of marketing mix for attracting their customers and hence appealing to the requirements and
extend the profitability of the product. It is the procedure to divide a market of potential
customers into groups and segments, on the basis of different features. These segments
created are comprised of different customers, who would respond to the marketing strategy
and also for sharing attributes like locations, needs and interests (Chernev, 2018).
ii) Marketing Mix: The second suitable and important or significant theory that is
needed to be considered while creating a marketing strategy for the organization of
Hopkinson is the marketing mix. The entire ideology of this marketing mix theory is to
establish each and every aspect of the plan of strategic marketing for the desire and habits of
the respective target markets. Such orientation eventually considers marketing, since it is
applicable to the 4Ps theory (van Scheers. and Makhitha, 2016). The 1st P is the product and it
subsequently considers the designing, competitors and features. The 2nd P is the price, which
is a specific factor that could be adjusted for management of demands and determination of
profit margin as well as for driving market shares. The third distinct and noteworthy P is
promotion, which seeks to find out the media for the core purpose of engaging and making
the correct people aware of the advantages of the product and resonation of different slogans
or logos with the respective target markets (Lidstone and MacLennan, 2017). The fourth P is
the placement, which determines how and where the potential customers could access their
product. The youth generation might want to browse, pay or buy online; while the other
people might prefer the personal services of the trained sales people.
iii) Relationship Marketing: Another significant and important theory that is needed
to be considered while creating a marketing strategy for the organization of Hopkinson is
relationship marketing (Banerjee, 2017). This particular theory seeks in building long term
relationships with the clients for the core purpose of retaining them. This distinct approach
overviews the clients as the most significant assets of the organization and the relationship
marketing eventually rests on 2 vital and noteworthy activities. The 1st activity is that the
organization should draw their clients after offering higher quality products and service and
the second activity is that the customer base must be eventually reserved by different
methodologies, like assigning individual account manager, incrementing variety of products
and also offering excellent customer services (David, David and David, 2017). Moreover, this
particular theory even focuses on brand equity and hence the customers as well as employees
are able to gain maximum success without much complexity. As a result, the organization is
able to set up their unique brand eventually. The brand awareness is the customers’ ability for
recalling their brand and change the negative perceptions of the customers with proper
products. The organization of Hopkinson is already leading the market with their high quality
coffee and the customers are extremely satisfied with their products (Sadeghpour et al.,
2017). However, by considering relationship marketing, they would be able to resolve the
existing issues and get better results.
iv) Marketing Orientation: The next important and noteworthy theory that is needed
to be considered while creating a marketing strategy for the organization of Hopkinson is
marketing orientation (Baker and Hart, 2016). It eventually places their customer at the centre

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of the businesses and then assets that all the department of the organization must emphasize
on satisfaction of few selected requirements of the client. This type of marketing includes
deciding on what is to be produced in the 1st place and marketing indicates the pricing
strategy, distribution channel as well as target customers (Cross, Belich and Rudelius, 2015).
This particular theory is on the basis of two assumptions, which include each department
within the organization makes decision on the basis of customer requirements and all the
departments eventually coordinate different efforts on the basis of customer requirements.
v) Product Life Cycle Theory: The fifth distinct and important marketing strategy
theory that is needed to be considered while creating a marketing strategy for the organization
of Hopkinson is product life cycle theory (Milichovsky and Simberova, 2015). This particular
theory assets that the marketing strategy must evolve along with a product from subsequent
inception through undesirability. In the earlier phase of the product life cycle, the
organizations should properly tailor the marketing mix for involving high interests and also
educate the most potential customers (Miles et al., 2015). However, in the growth phase, this
type of effort shifts for securing a wide audience after building brand loyalty, a stabilized
supply chain as well as extra distribution channels as the basic defence against their
competitors entering into the respective market (Kim, Shin and Min, 2016). Hopkinson
would be able to bring out differentiation in their products and would also gain success in the
competitive market.
1.2.3 Suitable Recommendations for a Marketing Strategy with Identification of Risks
and Challenges associated with the Recommendations
The strategic marketing plan comprises of different components, such as market
researches, target markets, positioning, and competitive analyses, marking strategies, budget
and metrics. Such planning involves mission, situation analysis, marketing mix, marketing
strategy and successful implementation and control of the metrics (McCamley and Gilmore,
2015). The marketing success is being tracked with Google Analytics for the web site
conversion and also to compare and contrast the budget of the respective organization. The
essential components of a strategic marketing plan involve market researching and target
marketing. These components are responsible for ensuring that the entire strategic planning
would be eradicating the existing complexities and issues related to strategic marketing and
the company would be able to gain maximum effectiveness without any problem.
The market research is the support for the marketing plan and should be considered on
top priority for understanding the buying habits within the industry, growth of the market,
current trends and market size. When the market for a product would mature, the weak
players are eventually driven out, after checking differentiation amongst the competitors. The
target market helps in identifying the most likely buyers. Two or three levels of segmentation
are required to be analysed on the highest priority (Ghosh, 2017). The third vital component
is positioning that ensures that the restaurant would be able to develop their compelling
branding as well as marketing messages, which could eventually communicate about the
perception (See Appendix).
Another vital and significant component of the strategic marketing plan is competitive
analysis (Agic et al., 2016). As a result, the organization would be able to understand about
the competitors and ensuring that the goods and services are completely different. Hence, the
business gains better position and stand out from the respective competition. Market strategy
is the next distinct and important component of the marketing plan. This specific strategy is
the path towards sales objectives and hence ensuring major attraction of customers through
event, direct mail, social medium, content strategies and many more (Brooksbank, Subhan
and Miller, 2018). It helps in gaining access to the customers and also maintain proper budget

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and month by month schedule of the expenses on marketing. A metric is needed to be
established for ensuring that a sufficient return on investment is not being generated. Suitable
recommendations for a marketing strategy in the organization of Hopkinson with proper
identification of different risks and challenges associated with these recommendations are
provided in the following paragraphs (David, David and David, 2017).
i) Experimenting with new Channels and Platforms: The first effective and suitable
recommendation for a marketing strategy in the organization of Hopkinson with proper
identification of different risks and challenges associated includes experimenting with the
new channels and platforms (Kim, Shin and Min, 2016). It would be extremely vital and
effective to get involved with the new channels, so that the organization gets ready to
compete with other popular and significant coffee shops and cafes such as Starbucks, Caffe
Nero and many more. This particular marketing strategy is also responsible for reducing the
complexities without any issue (Cross, Belich and Rudelius, 2015). A successful channel or
platform can provide opportunity to the organization and Hopkinson would be able to extend
his product offering and gain high success. Moreover, with such experimentation with the
new channels and platforms, they would be able to collaborate with the similar minded local
organizations. However, in spite of having several advantages, Hopkinson might face few
challenges and risks while considering this specific recommendation (Meidan, Moutinho and
Chan, 2015). One of the major issues that is being faced with this recommendation is the cost
or expenses. Since, Hopkinson is a small organization, management of costs would be a
major problem for them, if they would consider experimenting new channels and platforms.
As a result, the business might suffer financial issues (Wood and Jobber, 2016). The second
risk that is possible for this particular channel or platform experimentation is that if
Hopkinson is unable to select a proper channel or platform, it would be extremely vulnerable
for the business.
ii) Getting Employees Involved: The second important and significant suitable
recommendation for a marketing strategy in the organization of Hopkinson is getting their
employees involved in every decision or strategy (Brooksbank, Subhan and Miller, 2018).
Although, Tom has included his employees in collecting and sorting coffee beans; they would
be able to get scope for promotion and hence as a result, the issues and complexities would be
resolved. Moreover, Hopkinson would be able to use cellar in their business with the help of
these employees. The only risk or challenge with this recommendation is that different
employees have different ideas and these could clash, while undertaking a finalized decision
for the business (Kim, Shin and Min, 2016). As a result, the organization might be in extreme
problematic situation, related to employee conflicts.
1.3 Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion, a conclusion could be drawn that a strategic
marketing planning procedure is required for providing a clear map for the organizational
goals and procedure of achieving them and getting each and every stakeholder for sharing a
common goals and also having a common understanding of the organizational opportunities
and challenges. Such strategic marketing plan can easily outline confusing strategy with
tactics and deal with issues related to lack of resources. As a result, even when the goal is to
increment the profit and revenue, it does not become a major issue for the organization.
Moreover, they would be able to gain significant assumptions regarding the customers easily
and promptly. The strategy might be a larger objective, like incrementing the market share in
the most effective manner. The tactics mainly involve different action steps like lowering the
prices, to ensure that more people are buying different products. The above provided report

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has appropriately described about the case study of Hopkinson with suitable theories and
frameworks as well as recommendations.

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Question 2: Critical Reflection
2.1 Selection of One Theory or Framework applied in Hopkinson Case Study
Marketing mix is one of the most suitable and significant theory for the case study of
Hopkinson. It is the collection of different marketing tools, which the organization utilizes for
pursuing the marketing objectives within the respective target market. There are four
different levels of marketing decision, which include product, price, place and promotion or 4
Ps. A proper arrangement of this marketing mix eventually plays a significant role within the
success of corporate marketing (Banerjee, 2017). It ensures strengths and avoids weaknesses,
so that competitiveness is strengthened and there is a major adaptability to the enterprises. As
a result, Hopkinson would be able to reduce the negative effects and gain maximum success.
2.2 Assessment of the Strengths and Limitations of the Selected Theory or Framework
for Strategic Marketing Planning for Hopkinson Case Study and Nespresso Case Study
The theory of marketing mix comprises of the some of the most significant strengths
and weaknesses for the case studies of Hopkinson and Nespresso. The organization of
Nespresso is concerned about spreading their brand to the entire world. Although, they are
using technologically sound and easy to use machineries, marketing mix would be significant
for the organization (Meidan, Moutinho and Chan, 2015). The major strengths of marketing
mix theory for strategic marketing planning include simplifying and bringing together
different marketing concepts into one for better management and it enables separation of
marketing from other organizational activities as well as delegation of marketing tasks to the
specialists.
Moreover, they are also able to identify as well as fulfil the organizational
requirements with the most appropriate products in the correct places and grow the market
share and product line, hence leading to maximum profit and revenue. The small companies
get the opportunity to compete with the larger organizations and also making scope for better
opportunities for the business growth and development (Lidstone and MacLennan, 2017).
The organization would be able to guide their overall efforts and also identify their respective
business objectives and even the market place, where the organization is competing, the
target audience and even the methods, by which they could be reached for evaluation of their
success. It could easily integrate every aspect for ensuring that the company is growing
eventually.
On the other hand, both Hopkinson and Nespresso might also face few weaknesses for
marketing mix, which include it does not consider clients’ behaviours and it also considers
clients as passive and does not allow interactions. The other weaknesses include not
consideration of the unique elements of service marketing or building relation with the
customers. As a result, higher issues and complexities are also resolved successfully and the
organization would be gaining high competitive advantages, in terms of marketing strategy
and planning (Baker and Hart, 2016). The organizations of Hopkinson and Nespresso would
focus on these details related to marketing mix and marketing strategy and hence they would
be able to deal with the existing issues and gain maximum profit. Moreover, they would be
able to include new opportunities and scope for the business and also bring new aspects
related to product, price, place and promotion.

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Appendix
Marketing Audit