The Colloquy Grog Shop Marketing Essay

The colloquy Grog Shop merchandising Essay conference Grog Shop is a strange local break off/coffee/tapas house that provides a friendly, effective point where single can get through and through. parley Grog Shop is non your typical bar where mint go to meet some different single. dialogue Grog Shop has aunique service c entirelyed the structure conversation system that is quite effective for allowing single to meet apiece other(a) and provide them with valuable sixth sense into the other person through reflective conversation. The structured system provide an atmosphere that lowers inhibitions and breeds confidence allowing singles to meet other singles and get hold of insight into their personality by way of thoughtful discourse.Meeting heap is oneness of the largest hurdles 25-45 year old singles face. communication Grog Shop provides this group with an effective solution to this problem.Situation analysisColloquy Grog Shop has just begun ancestry, and trade i s essential to its success and future profitability. The bar offers a place for peopleto meetin a comfortable, person- contact environment. The basic market need is place where singles can meet new similar people. Colloquy Grog Shop uses a sophisticated conversation system to enhance and facilitate singles meeting each other.Market SummaryColloquy Grog Shop feature good information about the market and knows a great deal about the common attributes of the prized and loyal customers. Colloquy Grog Shop will supplement this information to better understand who is served, their specific needs, and how the Grog Shop can better communicate withthem.http//www.m computer programs.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifhttp//www.mplans.com/coffee_bar_ marketing_plan/images/30000000000000000000000000000100.jpghttp//www.mplans.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifMarket Analysis20012002200320042005Potential CustomersGrowthCAGRSingles9%210,987229,976250,674273,235 297,8269.00%Non-singles7%134,432143,842153,911164,685176,2137.00% early(a)0%000000.00% occur8.23%345,419373,818404,585437,920474,0398.23%Market NeedsColloquy Grog Shop is a unique bar/coffee shop/tapas house that is organized to try to facilitate new friendships. The Grog Shop will offer a changing menu of tapas, microbrews, and sundry(a) coffee drinks in conjunction with a structured conversation system. Colloquy Grog Shop seeks to fulfill the following benefits that argon important to their customers.Selectiona creative choice of aliment and drink and a well-constructed structured conversation system.Accessibilitythe patron will gain access to the Grog Shop with minimal waits and long business hours.Customer servicethe customer is ALWAYS right.Competitive pricingall products will be hawkishly priced relative to the competition.Market TrendsThe market trend is headed toward a more sophisticated customer. The restaurant/bar patron today is more sophisticated in a number of diffe rent waysFood typethe pickence for higher-quality ingredients is being rein pull ind as customers atomic number 18 being subjected to an increasing number of options.Quality conversationpatrons argon recognizing intellectual conversations can be had in bar settings and would prefer this oer normal bar talk.Access to meeting peoplepeople are tired of being single and are looking for ways to meet like-minded individuals.http//www.mplans.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifhttp//www.mplans.com/coffee_bar_marketing_plan/images/30000000000000000000000000000210.jpgMarket GrowthIn 1999, the global bar/restaurant market put oned $24 billion dollars. Alcohol gross revenue are estimated to grow by 9% for the next few years. This growth can be attributed to several factors. The offshoot factor is Americans reliance on alcohol for kindlyization. This factor is intuitive as alcohol breaks down social inhibitions.Another factor is the trend to eat and drink outside of the home. This occurs as Americans work long and longer hours during the week. Eating and drinking out is a convenience that many are willing to pay for. It also provides contact with more people.SWOT AnalysisThe following SWOT analysis captures key strengths and weaknesses within the company and describes the opportunities and threats facing the Grog Shop.StrengthsStrong relationships with third initiatey vendors.Excellent staff who are highly teach and customer attentive.The structured conversation system.WeaknessesThe Grog Shops limited brand equity.The struggle to continually have current and newconversation offsprings.A limited marketing reckon to develop brand sensory faculty.OpportunitiesA growing market with a significant percentage of the of the lay market still unaware of the Grog Shop.Increasing sales opportunities as people become familiar with the advantages of the structured conversation system.The ability to lower variable costs through efficiency gains.ThreatsComp etition from taverns.Competition from other sources of singles meeting events.A slump in the economy which will decrease discretionary spending.CompetitionThe competition comes from several different sources. interdictThere are many different types of bars or taverns. Some are better than others for meeting people, however, none of them have the business mission to bring together singles. java ShopsCoffee shops are typically an easy-going social setting that does lend itself for people to meet others. Conversations occur in p machination because of the historical underpinning of coffee houses, in part by virtue of the fact that the background music is not blaring. Coffee shops rarely have any type of organized activities to bring singles together. opposite Events/Activities Aimed at Bringing Together Singles.One activity/phenomenon that has started in New York City and moved to a few other larger cities (not including Portland) is an activity that has a long rectangular table that a lways has one seat opposing the other. Peoplesit downwith females on one side and males on the other (this seating arrangement is for heterosexual gatherings) and will have a limited number of minutes (usually 10) to chat. Typically, conversations can beabout anything, however you are not to reveal the job/profession that you are involved in, beyond that, anything is fair game. The table rotates and you end up speaking with a lot of different people. You hence create a list of the top five that you would like to speak with again and if the look intoing person also has you on their list, phone numbers are released to the deuce people. Another activity might be some sort of outdoor activity like hiking or rafting and it is organized as a singles event. There are also other type of singles events, too numerous to mention. Lastly, there are resources like personal incisions in local text file where people canpost or respond to personal advertisements.Every person has their own mode of meeting people, somemore useful than others. Colloquy Grog Shoppredicts singles will abandon, or at least supplement, their current method of meeting people with the Grog Shops activities as they are thoughtfully designed to extend to the goal of introducing like-minded individuals.Product OfferingColloquy Grog Shop sells the followingEightMicrobrews on Draft andBottledAlcohol, specifically beer, is served for twain reasons. One, alcohol reduces inhibition, making it easier for people to meet and interact with new people. Two, and more importantly, beer, particularly draft beer generates wonderful profits. Microbeers are chosen because microbrews are of higher quality than large production beers and our target segment prefers higher-quality beer.Espresso, Cappuccino, Coffee, and other Coffee/Espresso drinks.Coffee and coffee-related drinks are hugely popular, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Northwesterners expect good coffee/espresso at most food/drink establishments an d it is often associated with good conversation.An Assortment ofTapasTapas are chosen because they can be relatively easy to make, the offerings can be changed frequently, and tapas aremore biotic community orientated, meaning they are designed for a table/multiple people to share. This reinforces Colloquy Grog Shop mission of bringing new people together.The service offerings are insensibled on a system for singles to meet new people. This is accomplished through a structured conversation system. The Grog Shop is divided into two sections, one smaller section of tables that is for people meeting people that they already know. The other, larger section is the section of tables for singles to come and meet new people. This section is composed of 4-top tables (table seating for four) where a customer will come and sit down at the table among other people. The table will be marked with a topic of conversation in the center. Throughout the evening as there is turnover of the table or the conversation is exhausted, the server will enrol a new topic. The topics of conversation are far reaching, some are recent news or sports, while others are intellectual, and some are philosophical. The the great unwashed of the topics will be of the latter varieties as people that are interested in meeting people through the conduit of conversation will typically prefer heavier stuff to provide more insight into that person.If you ask a majority of single 25-45 year olds, most will say they have difficulty meeting new people. Regular bars are not an ideal place to meet people because beyond their visual image, it is quite difficult to learn anything stuff about the person to determine if there are some commonalities. The typical bar has loud music and is not geared up for serious conversation. Bars are also less than ideal to meet people because of the uncertainty or ambiguity when meeting new people at a bar. some people feel uncomfortable in situations where they are not sure how to act. The ideal situation to meet someone is during an activity that is mutually enjoyed, whether it is at an art museum or mountain biking in the Cascade Range.Colloquy Grog Shop creates a setting in a bar/coffee shop that encourages thoughtful conversation, allowing patrons to gain insight into the other singles. The key to the conversation system is structure. The rules are clearly established. Singles sit down at specific tables and discuss the assigned topic of conversation. Everyone at these tables are single and looking to meet new people. The conversation is used to elicit insight into the other person, their values and perspectives as well as implicit and sometimes explicit insight to their background and past.The structured conversation system is successful because it reduces ambiguity or uncertainty in the singles social scene allowing people to feel more comfortable in the setting and open up more tonew people. Additionally, for intellectually minded people, i t allows them to find people with similar interests, whether the similarity is based in the topic of conversation or more generally in conversation itself.Keys to SuccessAttracting customers who find value in the Grog Shops offering and who will frequent the Shop regularly in hostelry to meet like-minded single people.Excellent customer service.Maintaining a cost of goods on foods at below 50%.Critical IssuesThe Grog Shop is still in the speculative stage as a retail operation. Its critical issues are to bide to take a moderate fiscal approach to business operations andto build brand awareness which will drive customers to the Grog Shop.Marketing StrategyColloquy Grog Shops strategy will be based on communicating Grog Shops value to the targeted segments. This will be through through a variety of methods. The first method will be strategically placed advertisements. One place that will beused for advertisements is the Willamette Weekly, the liberal arts magazine that details all o f the entertainment in Portland. This will be the principal(prenominal) source of advertisements because the demographics of their readership are passably similar to Colloquy Grog Shops demographics.Another source of marketing will be done with strategic relationships with companies that have similar customer demographics. One prime example is the Multnomah Athletic Club. While the clubs patrons are not necessarily overwhelmingly single, the rest of the demographics match up. The MAC is a fairly exclusive downtown athletic club that by virtue of the membership costs, attracts professionals. The strategic relationship with be mutually full where both organizations will develop profile for each other.The other form of advertising will be using grassroots methods where customers will be abandoned coupons for their friends to try Colloquy Grog Shop for the first time. The coupon will be an economic incentive for the newcomer to try Colloquy Grog Shop. The coupon also has the added force of a referral from a friend.MissionColloquy Grog Shops mission is to provide a neighborhood bar/coffee shop where single people can meet. We dwell to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.Marketing ObjectivesDevelop brand awareness through a steady, month to month increase of new customers.Develop an increase in sales while achieving a status quo state or decreasein marketing expenses.Develop awareness of the structured conversation system measured by customers coming to the Grog Shop solely for meeting people.Financial ObjectivesA double name growth rate for each future year.Reduce the variable costs through efficiency gains.Reach profitability within the first year.Target MarketsColloquy Grog Shops customers can be broken down into two groups, singles, and non-singles. The non-singles groupsare smaller than the singles groups by virtue of the fact that if you are meeting someone whom you already know, the two of you can come up with the topic of conversation yourself, therefore, Grog Shop offers this group less value. The demographics for the non-singles is similar to the singles, to be listed below. The larger group then is the singles. The demographics of the singles areSingleself evident.Professionalthis characteristic is intuitive since theunderlying element of Colloquy Grog Shop is thoughtful conversation, and most professionalsappreciate thought-provoking conversation.Income over $40,000this to a large degree is correlated to the fact that they are professional.Age 25-45the largest group of singles looking for companions.PositioningThe Colloquy Grog Shop will pip itself as a reasonably priced tapas/bar/coffee house that has an innovative, effective system for allowing single to meet each other.The Colloquy Grog Shops positioning will leverage their competitive edgeAunique approach to getting singles together called the str uctured conversation system. This system was detailed in the Product and work section, please refer to that section for moreinformation.This system is a competitive edge because most bars/taverns do not have a corner that they areconcentrating on. While every bar or coffee shop has a certain flavor and that is why someone will choose one bar or another, the flavor is only surface deep. The business model of the establishment is to sell alcohol and provide a social setting. Beyond these two values, there is little other genuine value that the establishments try to provide.Colloquy Grog Shop is distinguished by the fact that their business model concentrates on ontogenesis value for customers beyond avail drinks. The Grog Shop develops an effective, albeit inherently structured, social setting thatencourages meeting like-minded individuals. Providing the drinks isthe source of income, an ancillary part of the business model. Generating value for the customers is the main focus, if the customers are happy then the revenue will follow (assuming of course that proper marketing and financial controls are employed). Concentrating on the clients needs beyond serving alcohol is the distinguishing characteristic that will allow Colloquy Grog Shopto rapidly gain market share.StrategiesThe single objective is to position the Colloquy Grog Shop as the premier place for young professional singles to meet like-minded individuals. The marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals.The message Colloquy Grog Shop will seek to communicate is that The Grog Shop is THE place to meet intelligent singles. This message will be communicated through a variety of methods. The first method will be advertisements. The bulk of the advertisements will be in the Willamette Weekly, a weekly entertainment guide in Portland that has impressive readership numb ers for the desired target population.Another method will be through establishing strategic relationships with companies that have similar demographics such as the Multnomah Athletic Club. Establishing a mutually beneficial relationship will allow both organizations to develop visibility for each other.The other form of advertising will be using grassroots methods where customers will be given coupons for their friends to try Colloquy Grog Shop for the first time. The coupon will be an economic incentive for the newcomer to try Colloquy Grog Shop. The coupon also has the added force of a referral from a friend.Marketing motleyColloquy Grog Shops marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service.Pricingthe pricing scheme is based on standard industry practices.Distributionall services and products will be distributed from Colloquy Grog Shops retail space.Advertising and promotionthe most successful adve rtising will be with Willamette Weekly. Additionally, strategic relationships will be developed with companies such as Multnomah Athletic Club as well as use of a grassroots promotion system.Customer service psychoneurotic customer attention is the mantra. The Grog Shops philosophy is to do whatever needs to be done to impress the customer. While this could reduce short-term profits, it will strengthen long profitability.Marketing ResearchDuring the initial phases of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were held to gain insight into a variety of likely customers. These focus groups provided useful insight into the decision making process of these consumers.An additional source of dynamicmarket researchis a feedback system based on a suggestion waggle system. The suggestion cardhas several statements that patrons are asked to rate in terms of a given scale. There are also several open stop questions that allow the customer to freely offer constructive criticism or praise. The Grog Shop will work hard to implement reasonable suggestions in order to improve their service offerings as well as show their committment to the customer that their suggestions are valued.The last source of market research will be competitive analysis. This will be done by regularly visiting competitors and analyzing their service offerings.FinancialsThis section will offer a financial overview of the Grog Shop as it relates to the marketing activities. The section will address break-even analysis, sales forecasts, expenses forecasts, and how those link to the marketing strategy.Break-even AnalysisThe Break-even Analysis indicates that $30,237 will be needed in monthly revenue to reach the break-even point.http//www.mplans.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifhttp//www.mplans.com/coffee_bar_marketing_plan/images/30000000000000000000000000000600.jpghttp//www.mplans.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifBreak-even AnalysisMonthly Revenue Brea k-even$20,299AssumptionsAverage Percent Variable Cost32%Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost$19,654 gross sales estimateThe first two months will be used to set up the physical location, hire personnel,establish vendor relationships and obtain an alcohol license. Thethird month will be the grand opening. Business during the second month will be understandably slow as a steady customer base takes time to build. By month four it is forecasted that sales will steadily grow.http//www.mplans.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifhttp//www.mplans.com/coffee_bar_marketing_plan/images/30000000000000000000000000000300.jpghttp//www.mplans.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifgross revenue Forecast200120022003SalesDrinks$105,921$271,254$296,874Food$69,908$179,028$195,937Total Sales$175,829$450,282$492,811Direct Cost of Sales200120022003Drinks$26,480$67,814$74,219Food$29,361$75,192$82,293Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales$55,842$143,005$156,512Expense ForecastMarketing expenses arebudgeted to remain fairly steady passim the year. There will be an initial ramp upof spendingto generate visibility. After this ramp up advertising will be fairly consistent month to month.http//www.mplans.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifhttp//www.mplans.com/coffee_bar_marketing_plan/images/30000000000000000000000000000400.jpghttp//www.mplans.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifMarketing Expense reckon200120022003Advertising$4,800$2,400$2,400Strategic relationships$2,000$1,200$1,200Other$2,400$1,200$1,200Total Sales and Marketing Expenses$9,200$4,800$4,800Percent of Sales5.23%1.07%0.97%ControlsThe purpose of The Grog Shops marketing plan is to serve as a guide for the organization.ImplementationThe following milestones identify key marketing programs. It is important to accomplish each one on time and on budget.http//www.mplans.com/graphical/images/sbp_images/click_to_enlarge.gifMilestonesAdvertisingStart DateEnd DateBudgetManagerDepartmentM arketing plan completion1/1/20012/1/2001$0KarenDepartmentAdvertising1/1/20011/1/2004$9,600KarenDepartmentStrategic relationships1/1/20011/1/2004$4,400KarenDepartmentGrassroots promotion1/1/20011/1/2004$4,800KarenDepartmentName me1/1/20031/15/2003$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20031/15/2003$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20031/15/2003$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20031/15/2003$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20031/15/2003$0ABCDepartmentOther1/1/20031/15/2003$0ABCDepartmentTotal Advertising Budget$18,800PRStart DateEnd DateBudgetManagerDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentOther1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentTotal PR Budget$0Direct MarketingStart DateEnd DateBudgetManagerDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentOther1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentTotal Direct Marketing Budget$0 weave DevelopmentStart DateEnd DateBudgetManagerDepartm entName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentOther1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentTotal Web Development Budget$0OtherStart DateEnd DateBudgetManagerDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentName me1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentOther1/1/20061/15/2006$0ABCDepartmentTotal Other Budget$0Totals$18,800Contingency PlanningDifficulties and risksProblems generating visibility and awareness of the Grog Shop.An entry into Portland of the conversation roundtables or other single meeting events.Lower than forecasted consumption of alcohol. thrash case risks may includeDetermining that the business cannot support itself on an ongoing basis.Having to liquidate equipment to cover liabilities.