Strategic Marketing Report: Hopkinson's Coffee Company, UMKC8T-15-M

This report presents a strategic marketing plan for Hopkinson’s Coffee Company, a Bristol-based business specializing in coffee, tea, and related products. The analysis begins with an introduction outlining the company's current market position and objectives. It then delves into a thorough situation analysis, examining the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), as well as external factors using PESTLE analysis. The report also explores the company's present condition, identifying strategic opportunities for growth and market expansion. Recommendations are provided, including the use of the Ansoff matrix and the BCG matrix to guide product development and market penetration strategies. The report concludes with a reflection on the frameworks used and their applicability. The report also includes a marketing audit in the appendix.

Running head: STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING
Strategic Marketing Planning
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the situation.............................................................................................................3
Present condition and strategic opportunities of Hopkinson’s’ coffee company.......................5
Recommendations......................................................................................................................8
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
Reflection.................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
The report is prepared to discuss about the strategic marketing planning for
Hopkinson’s Coffee Company, which is specialised in the production and delivery of good
quality tea, coffee items, soft drinks and also cakes in Bristol. Tom is the owner and by
working with his team members, they have managed to roast coffee beans and ensured
maintaining good quality services and cater the needs of people effectively too. The topic will
also present an idea about how the company manages to hold a good position in the
marketplace and attract new as well as existing audiences so as to generate higher sales and
revenue in business (McDONALD 2016). The company needs to keep up with the trends and
ensure delivery of high quality products and services for expanding the product range and
also facilitate promotional behaviours to influence consumers’ buying behaviours largely.
Analysis of the situation
From the case study, it is understood that Hopkinson’s Coffee Company is associated
with the selling of coffee and tea products that have been sourced from suppliers sustainably
and this has resulted in catering the needs of people as well as contribute to the protection of
environment and community at large. Most of the customers are the students from nearby
Universities as well as the staffs from companies and tourists visiting the place too. One of
the major issues experienced by Hopkinson’s Coffee Company is that most of the time, the
students and employees visiting the coffee shop have made themselves remain there for
longer period of time for just a cup of coffee (Wrenn and Mansfield 2014). Due to this,
sometimes, new customers do not come or are unable to get a proper seating arrangement
there while the sales level drops during the Christmas and this has been caused due to the
most of students going back to their home. Being an occasional shop, the company has set the
prices of products and services quite higher and most of the revenue generated, account for

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more than 90 percent of the coffee beans that are sold. Sometimes, the company has also
brought up single origin coffees which have been sourced from a single farm and often this
innovation costs more money to deliver such coffee products to the customers (Proctor 2014).
The prices are quite high, due to the exclusiveness and the innovative relationships
that are formed by the company with the suppliers from where the coffee beans are sourced
sustainably. The high competition in the market has also created some issues for Hopkinson’s
Coffee Company to sustain in the marketplace and also with the presence of McDonalds and
other supermarkets, the company may find it difficult to achieve competitive edge over its
competitors. The company aims at expanding the product range or product line and also enter
new markets so as to enhance the sales while at the same time, ensure that any pressure on
the household budget does not affect the demands for premium products available in the
market (Foxall 2014). It is also a major fact that production of coffee is dependent upon the
weather conditions and with the constant changes in consumers’ demands and preferences,
the company needs to cope up with the latest trends and also work with the supply chains
properly, while also put focus on the health and wellbeing of workers along with
management of effective supply chains too. The company also wants to acquire new as well
as the existing customers, which can be possible with the help of implementing an effective
and proactive marketing strategy required to promote the brand awareness and influence the
people to make purchases from the organisation consistently (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez
2018). The marketing efforts shall also allow for working with other companies and extend
the product line, which can further be facilitated with the help of advertising and promotional
activities largely.
In the tremendous competition within the industry, the company needs to implement
the right theories and frameworks for ensuring that the profit level is increased and at the

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same time, he existing clients are not alienated through increase in prices of products and
services. To ensure that the marketing efforts are put at the right time and in a right manner,
Hopkinson’s Coffee Company needs to analyse the market conditions and also assess the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats along with various forces to make sure that the
right marketing strategies are implemented (McDonald 2015). The marketing audit and
planning are required by Hopkinson’s Coffee Company for the purpose of analysing the
marketing conditions while also creating documents and reports for assisting the
organisational members to develop and implement strategies along with facilitation of control
over the business functions and processes to accomplish the business goals and objectives
perfectly (West, Ford and Ibrahim 2015).
Present condition and strategic opportunities of Hopkinson’s’ coffee company
SWOT analysis
The SWOT analysis framework is extensively used by the business organisations to
assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and this can also allow the
company to exploit the resources and opportunities properly for sustaining in the competitive
business environment.
Strengths
 It has a strong brand image and
positive brand identity, which has
helped in maintaining stability for
the coffee business in spite of the
competitors present all over
 Sustainable relationships with the
suppliers (Payne and Frow 2014)
Weaknesses
 The coffee products are season
based, because of which, the sales
often get limited
 The lack of marketing and online
business management could also be
a major weakness experienced by

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 Consumers can taste new kinds of
coffee items and the coffee beans are
of good quality too
 Good outlook, positive working
environment and culture are few
other strengths as well
the organisation
 Lack of innovation, which might
also make the company fail to keep
up with the latest trends
 High competition within the
concerned industry is a major
weakness as well (van Scheers and
Makhitha 2016)
Opportunities
 The changing behaviours of
consumer and changing buying
patterns could allow Hopkinson’s
Coffee Company to sustain in the
competitive business environment
much more effectively
 The management of supply chains
and managing employee welfare
could create opportunities for the
company to raise the potential of
workers and ensure sound business
functioning (Miles et al. 20160
 The focus on promotions and online
marketing tactics could raise the
scopes and opportunities for
expanding into both local and global
Threats
 The Brexit could result in trade
barriers and limitations, which might
increase the price and hat could be a
major threat for the company
 The threats of competitors is a major
issue as well
 With the presence of so many coffee
based companies, there have been
new entrants in the market as well as
substitutes to the coffee based
products, which might also make
people inclined to those rather than
making purchases from Hopkinson’s
Coffee Company (Leschke 2013)

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markets, furthermore, increase the
sales and revenue generation
capability too
PESTLE analysis framework
The PESTLE analysis allows for analysing the external environment and can allow
Hopkinson’s Coffee Company to determine the political factors, economic, social,
technological, legal and also the environmental factors that shall contribute to the business
functioning. The political factors could be the various legislations that are responsible for
managing the coffee business at Park Street while the trade barriers, tariffs, rates of interest
and tax are also responsible for influencing the business (Foo et al. 2013).
The economic factors are related to changing behaviours of customers and how their
buying patterns influence the coffee shop’s business. Hopkinson’s Coffee Company could
consider the opinions and feedbacks of customers and make sure to implement some
additional features to the product and enhance the level of satisfaction among the customers
too. The social factors are the demographic trends, changing society trends and lifestyles and
also the cultural lifestyles that re related to how the company, i.e., Hopkinson’s Coffee
Company markets its products and services for arousing interest among the customers,
thereby, influence their buying behaviours too.
The use of new technologies and use of online marketing procedures could also
enable the company to boost its sales and also create new markets and growth opportunities
so as to generate greater brand awareness (Tuten and Solomon 2017). The technological
improvements and social media marketing procedures should also influence the process of
communication, enhance the transportation efficiency, manage better customer data and

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information storage and increase the channels for distribution of products. This would also
make the customers gain better access to the coffee products made available in the
marketplace.
The environmental factors are about how the company implemented sustainable
measures and prioritised on the acqusitions of raw materials and resources that are sourced
sustainably, thereby, save a lot of energy and also control the changes in climatic conditions
much more comprehensively (Ashley and Tuten, 2015).
Recommendations
ANSOFF matrix
It is recommended that Hopkinson’s Coffee Company launch a new product range
such as it can use the existing coffee products, but could add a new range of snacks options
for making customers buy more and remain indulged with the coffee shop more often. The
ANSOFF matrix could be an effective solution that proposes the idea of product
development, penetration into the new markets, market development and also manage
diversification of products. The company should focus on the product development so as to
bring the new products alongside their regular product range for complementing to the
existing market segments. There is also need to conduct extensive research and development
activities for driving the expansion of the product range and also gain a proper understanding
of the present market conditions (Felix, Rauschnabel, P.A. and Hinsch 2017). The product
development strategy could also be recommended by acquiring the products of competitors
and combine the resources with it for creating a new product that could cater to the needs of
people in the existing markets as well as in the current markets too. The strategic partnerships
are also recommended for gaining better access to the various channels of distribution and

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also the brand, furthermore, raise awareness among people and influence their buying
behaviours.
Product life cycle BCG matrix
The BCG matrix, also known as the Boston Consulting group’s product portfolio
matrix needs to be designed as well for Hopkinson’s Coffee Company for development of a
long term strategic plan and consider the growth scopes and opportunities through review of
their portfolio. This also allows for understanding the areas where investments are needed to
be done, furthermore, develop new products or even discontinue the existing products to cope
up with the changing market situations.
DOGS: The existing regular coffee drinks have become risky with lower growth and also
lesser market share. These products could be complemented with the addition of new
products like snacks items for influencing the customers to try new food items and also
remain loyal toward the brand.

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CASH COWS: The coffee business has grown leaps and bounds for the last few years and
this is why Hopkinson’s Coffee Company has managed to remain successful. But often there
have been lack of enough resources, which made the clients unable to taste something new
and unique coffee items. It is also recommended for the company to meet the new suppliers
and offer single origin malted every week, which should be prepared from the coffee beans
sourced from one farm only. This could add some exclusiveness to the brand and allow the
Hopkinson’s Coffee Company to even adjust to the culture and ethical values effectively.
QUESTION MARKS: The Company has lacked proper marketing and due to this, the
awareness of the brand is quite low as well, which has hindered the company’s ability to
manage its high growth market products that are relatively lesser in terms of market shares. It
is recommended that the coffee shop bring some new products alongside the existing
products such as the Mugs, T-Shirts, etc. to its customers. There are many University students
who sit most of the time at the shop just for a cup of coffee and all these merchandises could
be a craze among them, which should also lift the sales for the products. These exclusive
products other than the regular coffee items could make the customers believe that these are
hard to get and thus allow the company to develop a strong footprint in the general
merchandise and clothing industry too.
STARS: Just like the competitors such as Starbucks, Barista, Costa Coffee, etc., the company
should try to manage product development by acquiring any product of the competitors and
combine necessary resources with it for creating a new product. As stated earlier, this would
allow the coffee company to experiment with some new snack items and other food options
like egg devils, Chicken nuggets, etc. and even some healthy shakes for meeting the
increased demands among customers regarding protein and healthy food intake. These new
products could survive in high growth markets and allow the company to gain a bigger

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market share by meeting the needs of both new and existing market segments quite
comprehensively. Therefore, all the risks and challenges that might be experienced would
also be resolved with the help of these strategies and tactics that should be adopted by
Hopkinson’s’ Coffee company.
It is also recommended for Hopkinson’s’ coffee company to implement the social
media marketing techniques for the management of changing consumers’ preferences. The
social media marketing with the help of involving the social networks would increase the
potential of the organisation to spread awareness about the brand, furthermore, interact with
them more often by asking for their feedbacks and opinions regarding the coffee based items
provided. This would establish good relationships between the brand and its customers,
furthermore, create a loyal customer base, which would remain engaged with the brand in the
long term. The website traffic rate must be monitored along with the use of user generated
content for influencing their behaviours through engaging visual content.
The company should also manage differentiation strategy to add some distinguishable
features in the products and make sure that the customers could understand the differences
and bring in more customers.
Conclusion
The report was presented to discuss about the strategic marketing audit and also the
planning for the Hopkinson’s’ coffee company about gaining sustenance in the marketplace
and also attract new as well as existing customers. Considering the case study of the
organisation Hopkinson’s’ coffee company, the focus had been on the marketing strategy for
addressing the issues and challenges in the market and ensure that more students and other
market segments consisting of customers are attracted and retained. The company must

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source the raw materials and resources from the suppliers and also ensure product
development through addition of snack based items to the existing products and made those
look more appealing to the customers. This would encourage them and enhance the growth
scopes and opportunities for Hopkinson’s’ coffee company to enter new markets and meet
the needs of people in the existing markets much more comprehensively.
Reflection
From the report presented in the above section, I have understood some new concepts
related to the strategic marketing planning and marketing audit process. As the coffee
business has been growing prominently, it is always important for every managers and
owners to implement the right entrepreneurship skills, strategies and tactics for surviving in
the competitive business environment and also make sure to cater the needs of people in
different market segments quite comprehensively. With the presence of multiple established
companies within the concerned sector, especially, the food business, it is always a daunting
task for an entrepreneurship business to make a mark and become successful. The strengths
of a new company could be the positive brand image and its good quality products and also
the sustainable relationships with its suppliers, who provide the resources required to
facilitate the process of production and manufacturing largely. Moreover, with the changing
behaviours and tastes of the consumers, small or medium sized companies like Hopkinson’s’
coffee company prioritise on bringing something new and that should be possible with the
introduction of a new product or even bringing some exclusiveness to the existing product
too. Based on the use of BCG matrix, it could be understood that the question marks and cash
cows needs to be managed properly so as to remain consistent while operating in both new
markets as well as the existing market segments. This could not only benefit the business, but
would create a good sense of relationship between the business and its clients, furthermore,

12STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING
create a strong brand image and presence and allow the company to keep up with the latest
trends within the industry too.
Based on comparing with other major coffee businesses like Nespresso, though
Hopkinson’s’ coffee company might fare low, but there are a lot of growth scopes and
opportunities, as studied by me. It is necessary for the company to make sure that the
marketing activities are improved such as by involving social media platforms and also with
the help of adding visual content to the website, which should not only lift the performance of
the brand but would also allow for enhancing awareness among people and increase the
market outreach, both locally as well as globally. I have also understood hat as the business is
seasonal, because the students, who are found in large numbers visiting the coffee shop, stay
away during the end of everey semesters. At that time, the business has experienced
downturn and the sales also reduced to a large extent. By using the SWOT analysis, I have
understood the strengths and weaknesses, which could be turned into opportunities by
managing effective supply chains as well as with the help of online promotions and
distribution channels.
The PESTLE analysis also allowed me to understand the external factors such as how
the political, economic and legal aspects influenced the business functioning and its
competitiveness within the industry. I would personally recommend the use of product
development aspect, as found from the ANSOFF MATRIX while even put focus on the BCG
matrix to address the issues and challenges. I personally believe that Hopkinson’s’ coffee
company could collaborate with the smaller companies and extend its product range by
adding some snacks items and also other merchandises to grab the attention of customers
easily and encourage them make purchases more consistently. By analysing all these aspects,
I have gained a lot of skills and knowledge about the strategic marketing planning for a

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business and this would surely allow me to progress in both personal as well as professional
career with much ease and efficiency.

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