Marketing 301: Marketing Strategy Report for Donald B - Analysis

This report provides a detailed analysis of the marketing strategy for Donald B, a new entrant in the Australian chocolate industry. It examines the company's current market position, which includes two stores located in Melbourne, and identifies opportunities for improved brand awareness and market penetration. The report discusses various elements of a comprehensive marketing strategy, including target market segmentation, positioning approaches, and the application of the marketing mix to consumer behavior. It also explores product and service ideas, different levels of product offerings, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and promotional activities, with a focus on social media marketing. Furthermore, the report extends the marketing mix to include people, process, and physical evidence, and analyzes the role of marketing in embedding principles of sustainability, ethics, and social justice. The recommendations provided in this report are designed to help Donald B achieve its business objectives and successfully penetrate the Australian market. The report uses academic sources to support its claims.

Running head: DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
Marketing 301: Marketing Strategy Report for Donald B
Student’s name
Name of the Institute

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................3
Marketing Strategy...................................................................................................................................3
Target Market................................................................................................................................................ 3
Positioning Approach.................................................................................................................................. 4
Application of marketing mix of consumer behaviour.................................................................5
Ideas for products and services................................................................................................................ 5
Different levels of products....................................................................................................................... 6
Pricing strategy............................................................................................................................................. 7
Distribution strategies................................................................................................................................ 8
Promotion strategies................................................................................................................................... 9
Extended marketing mix.......................................................................................................................... 10
Role of marketing in embedding principles of sustainability, ethics and social justice 11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................13
References.................................................................................................................................................14

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
Introduction
The objective of this report is to discuss the marketing strategy of Donald B, which is a
new entrant in Australian chocolate industry. This player has two stores situated in Melbourne.
The company wants to improve its brand awareness and its penetration in the Australian market.
The report would discuss the marketing mix for the company and would analyze the role of
marketing for sustainable business operations. It is expected that this report would help the
management of Donald B to penetrate in Australian market and achieve its business objectives.
Marketing Strategy
A good marketing strategy is one that follows the business strategy of organization
(Schmidt, Spann & Zeithammer, 2014). It is important that marketing function of Donald B
should support the business objectives, mission and vision of the organization. The various
elements of marketing strategy for Donald B can be discussed as:
Target Market
In Australia, the chocolate market is segmented into different categories including the
trends of the industry. However, the market is segmented by its type, age group, category, end
user and the distribution channel. The key target market for Donald B is all the consumers who
like chocolate in Australia. However, the chocolate market in Australia is a large market and the
segmentation variables like demographics, behavioural, intent, income variables, etc. can be used
to create focused target market (Tudor & Negricea, 2012). The different elements of target
market for Donald B can be discussed as:

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
i. Geography: Melbourne (to start with and then gradually increase to different parts of the
country)
ii. Demographics: Male & Female, 14 to 34 years
iii. Income level: Medium and High-income group as Donald B will charge premium for its
quality products
iv. Behavioural: People who likes chocolates and enjoys chocolates
The above variables of target market would help Donald B to have a focused approach while
reaching out to its target market. With the above variables, the company can have specific
marketing campaign to reach out to its target audience (Schmidt, Spann & Zeithammer, 2014).
Positioning Approach
Once the target market is established, the next step is the positioning. It is important that
brands should have strong positioning in place so that end-consumers can relate to the brand. The
positioning of Donald B is to operate as a high-quality product that provides nice taste to
consumers. The company is not a mass market player and it operates in a niche market. With this
positioning, Donald B does not want to target all the audiences in the market (Schmidt, Spann &
Zeithammer, 2014). It wants to be selective in its approach wherein it can target the people who
prefers good taste in chocolate and are willing to pay the premium for good taste. This
positioning approach appears to be best option for Donald B as the market is not saturated and
there is a place for new players to enter the market and capture the market share. With this
positioning approach, Donald B should be able to establish a set of loyal customer base that
would help the company to grow further.

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
Application of marketing mix of consumer behaviour
Once the overall marketing strategy is devised, the next step is to develop the different
elements of marketing mix. Schmidt, Spann & Zeithammer (2014) argued that different elements
of marketing mix actually add strength to the entire marketing strategy and market plan.
Therefore, it is important that marketers should realize the application of marketing mix on
consumer behaviour (Zhang, Watson, Palmatier & Dant, 2016). Different elements of marketing
mix and its applications on consumer behaviour of Donald B consumers can be discussed as:
Ideas for products and services
The basic product of Donald B is chocolate. Pestun (2016) argued that chocolate is one of
the most important elements of marketing mix and it is important that other elements of
marketing mix should be stitched with the product element. The key product in this case is
chocolate. However, overall product offerings from Donald B also include various service
elements. For example, consumers would buy any chocolate not only because of its unique
product quality but also because of its unique service attributes. In the current economic
scenario, consumers want to associate with the companies that provide excellent service (Hunt,
2018). Under any circumstances, Donald B cannot compromise on its service qualities.
Therefore, overall product and service offerings from Donald B would include both tangible and
intangible attributes. The tangible attributes would be associated with the underlying product of
the company and the intangible attributes would be associated with the underlying services of the
company (Pestun, 2016). These tangible and intangible attributes of product and services for
Donald B can be shown as:
Tangible & Intangible attributes of underlying products and services of Donald B

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
Tangible attributes for Product Intangible attributes for services
i. Taste of the chocolate i. Atmosphere of the shop
ii. Size of the chocolate ii. Behaviour of the salesman
iii. Overall finishing of the chocolate iii. Hygiene conditions
iv. Packaging of the chocolate iv. After sales service
v. Longevity/ Shelf Life of the chocolate v. Knowledge of sales executive
It is important that the management of Donald B should focus on all the key attributes of
products and services for the chocolates of Donald B.
Different levels of products
It is important that products should be analysed at different levels as it satisfy different
needs of people. The three levels of products are Core Product, Actual Product, and Augmented
Product (Samaha, Beck & Palmatier, 2014). The chocolate product of Donald B at these three
levels can be discussed as:
i. Core Product: The core product consists of the key benefits of the product. In this case,
the core product would be the benefits that comes from eating the Donald B chocolate.
The satisfaction of taste buds with the Donald B chocolate is the core product of the
company. At the very core, the product is all about its unique offerings and it does not
include any of the additional features like packaging, service, etc. Zeriti, Robson,
Spyropoulou, & Leonidou (2014) argued that the core product is the basic thing that the
consumers would look for and therefore, the product should be designed in a manner that
is not easy to imitate.

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
ii. Actual Product: The actual product consists of various other features and attributes of
the product like quality, quantity, colour, etc. In the case of Donald B chocolate, the
actual product would consist of quality of chocolate, the packaging of the chocolate,
branding associated with it, its fashion appeal, etc. It is important that marketers should
have a deep focus on actual product as actual product help marketers to develop a niche
in the market (Schmidt, Spann & Zeithammer, 2014).
iii. Augmented Product: The augmented product mainly consists of the services provided
by the organization (Hunt, 2018(). In the case of Donald B chocolate, the augmented
product would ne warranties provided by the company, after sales service, delivery of
chocolate through various distribution channels, etc.
Pricing strategy
For a small value product like chocolate, pricing could be the most important element of
marketing mix (Zeriti, Robson, Spyropoulou, & Leonidou, 2014). Generally, the pricing strategy
of any organization is in line with the overall business strategy. The business strategy of Donald
B chocolate is to focus on product differentiation. The company wants to focus on high income
users who are not price sensitive and the users who are willing to pay premium price for the
premium product. Zeriti, Robson, Spyropoulou, & Leonidou (2014) argued that there are
various kind of pricing strategy like price skimming, cost-based pricing, competitor-based
pricing, etc. It is important that organizations should analyse and assess the consumer behaviour
before deciding the best pricing strategy. The recommended pricing strategy for Donald B
chocolate is competitor-based pricing. The competition is high in the chocolate segment in
Australia and Donald B chocolate is a new entrant. Therefore, it would make sense for the
organization to assess the pricing strategy of competitors and then establish the price points

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
similar to the price points of competitors (Schmidt, Spann & Zeithammer, 2014). It is also
important that Donald B chocolate should follow the right set of competitors to get the price
points. For example, Nestle is a competitor of Donald B chocolate; however, Nestle also
produces chocolates for mass market. Therefore, it would not make much sense for Donald B
chocolate to follow the price point of Nestle. Whereas, Donald B chocolate should follow the
price points of premium chocolates brands in the country like Hershey (Payne & Frow, 2017).
Distribution strategies
Once the product is finalized and pricing strategy is decided, the next step for Donald B
chocolate is to decide the distribution strategy for its products. There are two key distribution
channels that Donald B chocolate should analyse, offline distribution channel and online
distribution channel (Verhoef, Kannan & Inman, 2015). It is recommended that Donald B
chocolate should focus on both offline and online distribution channels. In this era of technology,
no company should ignore the power of online distribution channel. The specific distribution
strategy for Donald B chocolate for offline and online distribution channels can be discussed as:
i. Offline distribution channels: For offline distribution channel, Donald B chocolate
should open the speciality stores in Melbourne. With the speciality stores, the company
should be able to create a buzz in the market. The objective of speciality stores would be
to drive more consumers to the store of Donald B. The company should sell its chocolates
at its speciality stores and at the same time, consumers should be offered free sample of
the chocolates at the speciality stores (Jaworski, 2018).
ii. Online distribution channels: The channel of online distribution is a powerful channel
for organizations in the retail sector (Jones et al., 2015). Usually the products in the retail
sector are low value products that can be easily sold on online distribution channels. It is

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
recommended that Donald B should sell its chocolates on various e-commerce
distribution channels like Amazon. In addition to Amazon, the company can also try to
sell the products through its own online distribution channel (Verhoef, Kannan & Inman,
2015). However, it could be a costly affair for company.
Promotion strategies
Donald B is a new player in the market and every new company needs to invest a lot in
the promotional strategies. In today’s time, social media platforms are the most efficient and
fastest way to target customers. Therefore, it is recommended that Donald B should invest
heavily on social media promotions (Gupta, Tyagi & Sharma, 2013). At the same time, the
company should also invest on other promotional elements like TV advertising, Newspaper
advertisement, bill boards and hoardings, etc. The advertisement mix for Donald B can be
highlighted as:
Advertisement Mix for Donald B
Type of Advertisement/ Promotion % allocation of budget Key Platforms
Social Media Marketing 50% Facebook and Twitter
Newspaper marketing 20% Australian & Sydney Herald
Event based promotions 20% Events like parties, music
events, games, sports, etc.
Radio & Direct marketing 10% Various radio channels in the
country

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
The above promotional mix should be used for the first year of marketing. After the first
year, the management should study the Return on Investment on various types of promotions and
then decide the promotional mix for next year (Hunt, 2018).
Extended marketing mix
The extended marketing mix (7P's) is the combination of seven elements of marketing
that aim to work together to achieve the objectives of a marketing strategy. These 7 elements are:
product; price; place; promotion; people; process and physical (Lonial & Raju, 2015). The four
core elements of marketing mix are discussed above. The remaining three elements of marketing
mix or extended marketing mix can be discussed as:
i. People: The people means the person or service executive who make the contact with the
customers. For any organization that wants to focus heavy on the service aspects, people
is the key thing. It is important that people should provide good experience to consumers.
From the perspective of Donald B chocolate, the service executives should be
knowledgeable enough to answer the queries of customers about product. At the same
time, the store executives should treat customers with respect (Priluck, 2015). The store
personal should establish positive rapport with customers. They should also be dressed
professionally so that customers get a positive image about the company and brand of
Donald B with their interaction with store executives (Rani, 2014).
ii. Process: The process means various processes and procedures that organizations have in
place to ensure that the operations of the business are taken care of. The basic or the
fundamental processes that Donald B should take care of, are sales process, inventory
processes, billing processes, etc. It is suggested that the company should use any
Information System like ERP system to manage its processes (Gummesson, Kuusela &

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
Närvänen, 2014). At the same time, organization should have the plan of continuous
quality improvement through process management. It can happen only when the
marketers are align with the business direction of the company (Hunt, 2018).
iii. Physical Evidence: The elements of physical evidence means the way store is organized
(Hunt, 2018). It is important that Donald B should have a deep focus on physical
evidence as good physical evidence like nice stores and good interior designers attracts
customers. With aesthetic design and appealing interiors, Donald B can actually lure
customers to spend more time in the store and the chances of purchase increases as the
customers spend more time in store. The elements of physical evidence for Donald B
would include colour of the walls, the aisle of the store, the interior designing, design of
the rood, etc.
Role of marketing in embedding principles of sustainability, ethics and social
justice
The organization, Donald B, is a new entrant in the market. However, it is important that
it should focus on the principles of sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. In recent
years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been addressed and managed by all types of
companies and organizations in several ways. It has also led both business people and marketers
to articulate varied interests on the incorporation of this concept into their activities. Therefore, it
is important that the marketers of Donald B should develop a business case for the use of
sustainability and corporate social responsibility along with its marketing activities. At the same
time, it is important to evaluate the ways in which marketing managers can apply CSR-related
activities to generate value for their various stakeholders (Hwang & Kandampully, 2015). It is

DONALD B MARKETING STRATEGY
just as important to advance knowledge on CSR implementation in the field of marketing
through this literature review and corresponding empirical evidence. It is important that Donald
B should establish marketing as a vertical function and CSR, sustainability and business ethics
should be established as a horizontal function (D’Souza et al., 2018).
This decision of interlinking marketing activities with CSR and sustainability also makes
effect on financial strategies of the business organisation, as they analyse future cash flow and
analyse ratio of ROI based on innovation accounting to plan the present investment of the
business. It also has come to know from the statement of Wong & Yazdanifard. (2014), that
there are three vital step of innovation accounting and it helps to identify the decision making
point of the business. whether it is for products or for business oriented decisions. Based on this
measurement the management of a business organisation takes the decision about changes in
present financial policies. Church & Rotolo (2013) highlighted that innovation is not effective
for start-up businesses with limited capital, and innovation needs more cost to be effective, so
that it may effect on new business in negative way and the finance management may fail to make
the balance between cash in and cash out and it will reduce value of intangible assets of the firm.
In this regard, Barrientos (2014) also mentioned that innovation accounting increases the
possibility of success of innovation due to proper monitoring on the process. Therefore it can be
said that innovation accounting has significant effect on financial management of a business
organisation. In turn, innovation accounting is deeply linked with the marketing principles
embedded in CSR and sustainability policies for Donald B. It is important that marketers of
Donald B should have a long term plan in place about the investment that needs to be done for
CSR and social principles (Hoppner, Griffith & White, 2015).