Sarto's Gourmet Pasta: Detailed Marketing Audit and Strategic Plan

This assignment provides a comprehensive marketing audit for Sarto's Gourmet Pasta, a restaurant aiming to be the leading gourmet pasta provider in Graceville. The audit includes an analysis of micro and macro factors affecting the business, a SWOT analysis identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and an examination of the competitive landscape. The methodology for conducting the audit involves focus groups, data analysis, and trend identification. The report also outlines the timeframe for the audit, key participants, and the main characteristics of a marketing audit. Additionally, it details criteria for external and internal audits, including market characteristics, customer needs, competitor factors, economic factors, and demographic considerations. The audit also considers qualitative and quantitative factors, such as economic and technological influences, to inform strategic marketing decisions.

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Contents
Assessment Part A: Written Report............................................................................4
Assessment description:.......................................................................................... 4
1. The purpose of the marketing audit, including details about micro and macro
factors that may affect the marketing operations and strategic goals and refer to
the marketing plan..................................................................................................... 4
- The analysis of the initial campaign goals so you can adapt and succeed.......4
- Assess what’s worked, and what hasn’t............................................................4
- Exposure to new ideas and different strategies.............................................4
- In-depth insight into your competition...........................................................4
2. The scope of the marketing audit that is required...............................................5
3. The methodology required to be used in conducting the audit and when the
audit could occur for the organisation........................................................................6
4. Timeframes for audit in line with the marketing plan..........................................8
5. The participants to be involved in the conduct of the audit and what their
involvement would require (their role).......................................................................8
6. The main characteristics of the marketing audit and how they meet the audit
priorities for the organisation..................................................................................... 9
7. The format of the marketing audit, and the main elements to be included.......10
8. The form of marketing audit that best meets the requirements of the marketing
plan. Describe at least one other form and explain briefly why it is not appropriate
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Provide a few written dot points for each of steps a-h above...................................10
................................................................................................................................. 11
Part B Written Report............................................................................................... 12
1. Read the case study information provided above and use it to write a short
description about preparing to conduct your marketing audit.................................12
a. Determine criteria to be used in external audit, such as market
characteristics, customer needs, and competitor factors......................................12
b. Determine both qualitative and quantitative factors to be used in the external
marketing audit, including:...................................................................................12
c. Determine criteria to be used in internal audit such as:.................................12
d. Determine a methodology for collecting data in accordance with plans for
audit developed in Assessment Task 1 and relevant to the criteria and factors
determined in Steps 2-4. Include a number of methods for collecting both
quantitative and qualitative data relevant to internal and external audit, including
interviews and digital searches.............................................................................12
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2. Write a short description of your methodology as determined above for
submission to your assessor..................................................................................... 13
3. Prepare interview questions or focus questions to be put to a focus group.......14
4. Conduct your qualitative and quantitative data in an appropriate format, such
as a spreadsheet, following your methodology........................................................14
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Assessment Part A: Written Report
The marketing plan
The mission of Sarto’s gourmet pasta is to provide customers with the best
quality meal with an exuberant dining experience. The marketing objective is to
maintain a steady and positive growth throughout the month and extended the
consumer base and the number of loyal customers. The company targets different
segments of the population: individuals who dine by themselves, families that dine
out together every once in a while and people who prefer take-outs for dining at
home. The Sarto’s gourmet pasta intends to direct the age group of 25-50 in its
current marketing campaign. The Graceville area is the immediate geographic
target of the company. The marketing plan aims consumers with an income over
60,000 dollars, prefer elite restaurants and eats out several times a week.
Micro and macro factors that might affect the marketing operations
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths- The retail space of the company is good and bright, and the
relationship with vendors are quite strong. Gourmet Pasta offers ready supply of
organic foods and enjoy excellent customer royalty among long-term customers.
The staff is highly efficient and the food exceeds expectations in term of taste and
presentation.
Weaknesses- the marketing budget of Sarto’s is limited which hinders proper
awareness of the brand. Brand equity is another aspect that Sarto’s lacks, it is
continuously struggling to appear as cutting edge.
Opportunities- A significant ratio of the target market is not aware of the
existence of Sarto’s gourmet pasta. The family business can increase the
opportunity of sales. Sarto’s will be able to extend its networks widely over
numerous revenue centers during this expansion and also be able to decrease the
costs in individual stores.
Threats- Local restaurants give Sarto’s a tough competition with their exotic
offerings at cheaper prices. Graceville has new gourmet pasta chains soon arriving
at markets. Moreover, the economic slump might compel customers to reduce their
eating out habits.
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A

1. The methodology required to be used in
conducting the audit and when the
audit could occur for the organization
The methodology which will be used in conducting the audit is that:
 The focus group will be divided into sample size of twenty each
 After this a set of questions will be asked to each sample size and based on
this the data will be gathered.
 The data will then be gathered using analysis and then trend analysis would
have been done.
 Lastly the results, would have been analyzed.
2. Timeframes for audit in line with the
marketing plan
The time frame for the auditing is around 3-5 months
3. The participants to be involved in the
conduct of the audit and what their
involvement would require (their role)
The participants are as follows:
The customers: The customers will be playing an active role in the given motion.
The chefs: The chefs who will design the product will also play an active role in
helping to determine the package.
The market surveyors: Various market surveyors will also be involved in order to
ensure success.
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4. The main characteristics of the
marketing audit and how they meet the
audit priorities for the organization
The main characteristics of the marketing audit:
They are required to e comprehensive in nature and have a broad focus.
They are required to have an objective exercise and independent of the managers
They need to be systematic in nature and follow a designated set of steps.
It is required to be carried out periodically and on a regular basis to identify
different opportunities.
5. The format of the marketing audit, and
the main elements to be included
The market audit needs to have the following elements:
 A SWOT Analysis
 The customer and prospect research
 Analysis of competition
 The market overview which covers the external factors such as the PESTLE
Analysis
 The overview of marketing the internal factors and measuring extent of
internal communication.
6. The form of marketing audit that best
meets the requirements of the
marketing plan. Describe at least one
other form and explain briefly why it is
not appropriate
The marketing audit form which would be best suitable for the marketing strategy
will be a marketing environment Audit
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The marketing environment audit comprises of the analysis of the external
environment of the company. This includes the natural environment, the political,
economic and the demographic environment. Moreover, it also analyzes the
consumer and competition present in the workplace. This goes a long way in
assisting to make the marketing strategies.
Another form of a marketing audit would be a Marketing Systems audit. This form
shall not be appropriate for the business because it looks out the manner in which
the business can control activities which is not required in this case.
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B

Part B Written Report
1. Read the case study information provided above and use it to write a
short description about preparing to conduct your marketing audit.
a. Determine criteria to be used in external audit, such as market
characteristics, customer needs, and competitor factors.
Market characteristics:
Economic: The economic forecasts suggest a fall in the interest rates, which
will consequently create more disposable incomes and families, will have more read
money to dine out. This is favorable for the potential sales and increase the
available credit. Although the reduced interest rates may later prove disparaging
since some families may be keen on saving up by avoiding to eat out.
Political: The recent focus of the Australian government in the balance
between work and life is positive for the business model of the company. More
people will be drawn towards leisure as a result of the government’s legislation of
maintaining a healthy personal life along with a sustainable professional life.
However, the renewed tax plans of the government that charges more tax on high-
profit organizations will oblige the company owners to increase VAT. Customers will
not be willing to pay more for the same services; this will affect the annual profit of
the company.
Customer and market needs:
Although Gourmet Pasta is reputed to provide with high quality food, they are
required to use top-notch ingredients as per the customer needs. The choice of
options need to have a wider variety, and the managers need to take care of the
restaurant’s accessibility. A park and ride lying adjacent to the restaurant is a
feasible plan. Further, steps should be taken for reducing the issues associated with
long waits and takeaway queues. As per market needs, the prices of the food items
have to be more competitive since the other existing Italian restaurants in the
market are offering similar choices and quality at cheaper prices. The staff pays
adequate attention to the needs of the customers, although for attaining the market
objectives, more attention should be paid to the presentation of the food, since
restaurants these days specialize in top-notch presentation. Also, the menu is too
limited for food enthusiasts belonging from the target age groups.
Competitor factors:
The company encounters competition both at national and local levels. Some
of the rival companies include:
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Pasta Mia- Offers fresh pasta with innovative flavoring at reasonable prices. The
company better employees in terms of skill and experience and has worked visibly
hard for the décor.
Pasta Buzz- They have introduced an exclusive choice for the customers who can
select from the range of available sauces and flavors and get them customized
according to their preferences.
Pasta Bite- Although the prices of the food items offered by this company is quite
high, they have good reasons for charging so, because the quality and ingredients
used for making their dishes are extremely rare and good for health.
Verdi Pasta- The prices of this outlet is extremely low since they use nothing beyond
the basic, necessary requirements. There is very little effort from the staff and
manager in terms of innovation and quality.
b. Determine both qualitative and quantitative factors to be used in the
external marketing audit, including:
.
i. Economic factors: The third year of the operation has been well received
by the audience although the company has not been able to attain the
marketing objectives. The fallen rates of interest will be a potential threat
to the company’s sales. Further, the increased rates of unemployment
might discourage people from buying luxury food items like pasta. The
decreased disposable income will have bad consequences for all the
eateries in the market.
ii. Demographic factors: As mentioned earlier, the immediate target of the
company is Graceville and about 30kms of the targeted area is in need of
the company’s target. The target consists mostly of youths who make
more than 50% of the total market goers. Individuals who are high-
maintenance and have a natural knack for high quality food are easy
targets for the company. Areas resided by financially stable, or rather
affluent families are highly suitable as a demographic factor of the
company.
iii. Technological factors: The cooking process involves moderate use of
technology and there are no gaps in terms of technical facilities available
in the restaurant. For achieving higher sales, the company should launch
android applications so that customers can order food online. This will
help the company to reach out to a wider variety of consumer base and
help improve the brand name.
iv. Political/legal factors: The government legislations concerning the taxes
imposed on the restaurants is one the primary reasons of revenue deficit.
Further, the increased vats charged on the food items discourages the
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consumers to make lavish purchases. Inflation is also a driving force in the
sales of a company. Increased unemployment rates along with inflation
are hiatuses for a company’s sales rate.
c. Determine criteria to be used in internal audit such as:
i. Internal sales data
ii. supply chain management and logistics
iii. Functional efficiency
iv. internal interface with the organization
v. Marketing systems in terms of marketing information, planning and control
vi. Profitability and cost effectiveness
d. Determine a methodology for collecting data in accordance with plans
for audit developed in Assessment Task 1 and relevant to the criteria
and factors determined in Steps 2-4. Include a number of methods for
collecting both quantitative and qualitative data relevant to internal
and external audit, including interviews and digital searches.
The methodology which will be used are as follows:
 Certain interviews will be conducted by the company which will highlight
the consumer demands
 The digital trends and searches will be used to audit
 Various governmental and statistical websites will be used to analyze the
data effectively.
2. Write a short description of your methodology as determined above for
submission to your assessor.
The quantitative methodology shall be adopted in this case whereby the interview
responses which will be collected shall be set against certain parameters and using
these parameters, appropriate decisions shall be made which will then assist in
ensuring whether the designated market to be selected is correct or not.
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3. Prepare interview questions or focus questions to be put to a focus
group
Open ended questions:
When you think about packaged foods, what comes to your mind?
What is the best thing you like about our product?
What do you think is the best thing about our brand?
Which other brands do you prefer to use?
Close ended questions
Do you use our brand products?
Rate the product:
Are you satisfied with the product?
4. Conduct your qualitative and quantitative data in an appropriate
format, such as a spreadsheet, following your methodology.
a. Refer to excel
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