Week 10 EOC: What are the Benefits vs. The Features

The Benefits of my food truck After Stop, is the we are a portable restaurant  and will come to our consumers. We serve nothing but fresh food at all times, never any pre cooked meat. A benefit of having a portable restaurant is that our consumers can have the joy of never having to wait in long lines and that we have the ability to broadcast to different communities and we have free advertisement by driving around. We do not have to stay local if we do not choose too. we control our our hours of operation and location. We are family owned and we do not have to hire many staff members. If the weather is bad we do not have to work on that day and if the location we are at is not a safe or good spot we can relocate at anytime. Our prime time of work has a benefit also we cater to the individuals that like to party and eat after. We also have can go to all the clubs on the strip on the weekend that will be my best profit. We have easy clean up and not any insects and pest issues. The features of the food truck would be space and easy set up. Mobile and insurance liability and full coverage. Lights and back up battery if ever needed. Our Features are very noticeable and are all very detailed this truck is very clean and neat at all times and also have speakers to play music or advertise thru out the day to let the party people where we will be later that night for business . Also to let our consumers know when we are going to be closing at the current location and where we will be traveling next too. T o myself the Benefits out weights the Features but they both work well together to make After Stop food truck a success.

Implementation Evaluation Control

To be Continued...

Price

                                                           After Stop Price Points

I know the prices of my menu is very important a company's price point can either hurt the business or could make the business a success. I want to have a reasonable price point for After Stop's menu, I took into consideration the time of my services and how 9 times out of 10 my average customer will be low on cash and or will only have credit to use at that time of night. So with this I will have a credit/ Debit machine to handle all transactions. I know it will be a safer method for all of us less cash the best for that customer. I wanted a price that did not give my product away but at the same time was a fair enough price for my business and consumer. All combos are just $5.00 that will include your choice of a hamburger from the menu fries and or hot dog along with a soft drink. I also had to keep in mind the Demographics as well when I came up with my company's price point now don't get me wrong after sometime and when and if we decide to make Vegas a permanent location the yes our prices will eventually go up slowly but surely. Once my profit is increased then I know for sure my company will last will then be a great time to go up on my menu and price points. I don't want to overwhelm my consumers that late. Competitive marketing intelligence is the systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about consumers, competitors, and developments in the marketplace. The goal of competitive marketing intelligence is to improve strategic decision making by understanding the consumer environment, assessing and tracking competitors’ actions, and providing early warnings of opportunities and threats.(Pg ) 104 Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing.  I was reading up on break even price points and so many company's have it so wrong and refuse to be a business owner that gets this wrong.The major problem with this analysis, however, is that it fails to consider customer value and the relationship between price and demand. As the priceincreases, demand decreases, and the market may not buy even the lower volume needed to break even at the higher price. (Pg)208Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. I know After Stop has a great opportunity to be a success with the right business choices and leadership. 

Promotion

My first way of promotion would definitely be  Instagram and Flyers. I know it is very important to promote your company so that you stand out from the rest and to get your name out there. Many companies follow the selling concept, which holds that consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless it undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort.Pg(11)Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing .  Now I feel like it is very important to understand the meaning of the word promotion before you try to promote and then u fall hard on your face.  Promotion refers to raising customer awareness of a product or brand, generating sales, and creating brand loyalty. It is one of the four basic elements of the market mix, which includes the four P's: price, product, promotion, and place. Promotion is also defined as one of five pieces in the promotional mix or promotional plan. These are personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, and publicity. I will also come up with a great Logo and website I have many friends I will reach out to to help me and the best ones website created  I will use to promote After Stop.   I think this is a great way to get my company out there and my web design contact to win an opportunity for great advertisement as well. Perhaps the most important step in the marketing process involves building value-laden, profitable relationships with target customers. Throughout the process, marketers practice customer relationship management to create customer satisfaction and delight. In creating customer value and relationships, however, the company cannot go it alone. It must work closely with marketing partners both inside the company and throughout the marketing system. Thus, beyond practicing good customer relationship management, firms must also practice good partner relationship management.  Pg(31) Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing . Also after doing some research I learned that I can used google and bing to help me promote as well  All my promoting will be with my truck and online and the best will be word of mouth once my customers have had the AFTER STOP taste in there mouth. In the final step, the company reaps the rewards of its strong customer relationships by capturing value from customers. Delivering superior customer value creates highly satisfied customers who will buy more and will buy again. This helps the company to capture customer lifetime value and greater share of customer. The result is increased long-term customer equity for the firm.  (Pg)31Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing .

Distribution

Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user, using direct means, or using indirect means with intermediaries. My food would all come from wholesalers, I prefer to use Organic food sources such as Trader Joe's. The reason for them to be my pick is because they are very affordable and if I buy in bulk the will work out and deal with me. I buy from them in my personal life and I would want my customers to have a healthy food choice when the purchase from After Stop. I want my food to be a number 1 pick not number 2 at that time of night. I also want my food to come from a company that does not believe in filler and preservatives. This store has gourmet prices very low so this is another way I will be able not to charge so much to my consumers.    Trader Joe’s has put its own special twist on the food price–value equation—call it “cheap gourmet.”

Another thing that makes Trader Joe’s products so special is that you simply can’t get them anywhere else. More than 80 percent of the store’s brands are private label goods, sold exclusively by Trader Joe’s. If asked, almost any customer can tick off a ready list of Trader Joe’s favorites that they just can’t live without, a list that quickly grows. “People get hooked on something and they keep coming back for it. That’s how it starts,” says a Trader Joe’s store captain. “They end up filling up their baskets, then entire carts. That’s the most common complaint that we hear. They came in for one or two things, and ended up with a whole cart full of stuff.”(Pg)274 Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. I believe that once my consumers find out that all my food is bought from Trader Joe's that will give me a heads up with a lot of my competition, my food will taste so great and will not have a heavy feeling after its been eaten. That is enough right there to keep me in business.  It’s all about value and price—what you get for what you pay. Just ask Trader Joe’s regular Chrissi Wright, found early one Friday morning browsing her local Trader Joe’s in Bend, Oregon.(Pg)274 Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. The last thing I ever want is for my customers to force me to go out of business or cut my prices. Companies today face a fierce and fast-changing pricing environment. Value-seeking customers have put increased pricing pressure on many companies. (Pg)275 Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. 

Product

AFTER STOP'S

                                Burgers, Hotdogs, and Fries along with Drink Menu.  

Target Marketing Strategy

The food market has a lot of competition and static standing between you and the consumer. Narrowing your focus to one specific demographic or marketing place give potential customers a reason to notice you in the rest of the fray. You have to differentiate yourself in the marketplace this will be a motivator for the consumer when it comes to prices. Having a specific targeting market is very important. After Stop target market will be the individuals that enjoy the nightlife from the ages 21-40. Of course we will not exclude certain types of consumer from our market is the first elements of a marketing mix. I do feel that with our food truck that we will get a lot  of attention due to the fact that we service only after hour clubs. To design a winning marketing strategy, the marketing manager must answer two important questions: What customers will we serve (what’s our target market)? and How can we serve these customers best (what’s our value proposition)? pg(9)Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing . The first step would be to make sure that the food that I am trying to sell is not being sold in the area I would be working and most of all not open during the times I am working less options for my consumers the better.When coming up with my targeting market I have to think of these important steps to have a successful outcome. Characteristics of the primary market you’re targeting These characteristics may include information about the critical needs of your potential customers.Size of the primary target market, Your pricing and gross margin targets, Resources for finding information related to your target market,& Evaluation of your competition. And there is so much more.