Haigh’s Chocolates Internal Marketing Mix

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Table of Contents

Product
Pricing
Distribution
Promotion
Chocolate industry Outlook in the US
Conclusion
Reference List

Product

Haigh’s Chocolates has wide varieties of milk and dark chocolate products it can offer in the US market. The company offers these products in different quantities, quality, and packages. Consumers normally take packed or consume products in Haigh’s Chocolates branded packaging.

This is one method the company can use to attract its potential customers in the US. It knows that packaging communicates to all customers consuming its chocolate products. Thus, packaging of chocolate products must emphasize Haigh’s Chocolates brands in the US markets. It has to appeal to customers within the shortest time possible. Products packaging provides convenience to customers who want takeaways, send gifts, or just consume them on the go.

Customers may buy products over and over again because of packaging. Over the years, Haigh’s Chocolates has strived to improve its brands of milk and dark chocolate products for convenience, and for the comfort of its customers. Haigh’s Chocolates also ensures that all the company’s products have the same tastes across all its outlets.

Haigh’s can guarantee all customers that the products will be of its standard always in all its different in the US and Australia with regard to their hand-made milk chocolate. It has learnt to give customers some level of comfort by providing quality milk and dark chocolates in all its outlets in the US.

This enables the US customers know what to expect if the product does not meet their standards. This is necessary in cases where Haigh’s is selling hand-made milk chocolate. This flexibility enables customers to trust Haigh’s to deliver quality products always (Kotler, Wong, Saunders and Armstrong, 2005).

The US chocolate industry is competitive because of many players in the field. However, Haigh’s Chocolates does not need to modify its products in the US. Instead, the company can improve its quality of services in the target market. It is the service delivery that will differentiate it from the rest. The company should also introduce online purchase systems so that customers do not have to visit its outlets to get products. This is because the US lifestyle is one of the busiest in the world as opposed to where the company currently operates.

Pricing

Haigh’s Chocolates marketing mix tends must consider the total marketing mix when setting prices. This is because the competitive chocolate industry of the US cannot allow for non-price strategy implementation. At the same time, the use of phone services to sale products and delivery arrangement affects the price, promotion and distribution of its products. These will strongly affect its pricing strategy in the US.

In all these marketing mix oriented towards pricing, Haigh’s Chocolates must remember that buyers rarely consider price alone. Instead, the products they seek must give them the best value (Brassington, and Pettitt, 2005). The company can set its prices higher than those of Australia because the US economy is advanced and customers have spending power.

Haigh’s Chocolates has learnt that it is selling to the high-end consumers in Australia. It will have to target the same customers in the US. Thus, the company pricing strategy and implementation is essential. Pricing implementation must consider the message it is sending to customers.

The US customers want value for their money. Price implementation must consider competition. The US chocolate industry is extremely competitive. Haigh’s Chocolates will not be the only chocolate retailer in most busy streets of the US. Thus, setting prices to beat competition is a strategy that the company must evaluate carefully before implementation.

In some cases, customers are sensitive to high prices, particularly in busy streets. This leads to price elasticity has Haigh’s Chocolates will try to introduce low cost chocolate products and combined items for low prices. However, some customers will pay more for the value of chocolate and services the company will offer than get it elsewhere at a relatively lower price. Pricing strategy and implementation will control all other elements of the marketing mix (Solomon, Marshall and Stuart, 2009).

Distribution

Haigh’s Chocolates must be selective in choosing its outlets in the US. The company will find busy streets, and places of high-end consumers among others. This strategy is necessary because it will ensure that Haigh’s Chocolates sells and distributes its products to the target market.

Distribution in such places will make the company conducts a lucrative business in already competitive industry. The company must also create the demands for its products. Implementation of distribution strategy must consider access to Haigh’s Chocolates target markets.

Haigh’s Chocolates has known the importance of choosing high-end places for its retail outlets, and so it must do the same in new target markets. Distribution defines the quality of services and products a company may offer. The company must implement a place strategy that matches its brand image, and pricing goals of its products. This explains why the company chooses high-end places and busy streets to attract consumers who are from work, and have no time to spend on queue.

When implementing a distribution strategy, Haigh’s Chocolates must take into account the price, products’ image, place, and customer perception of its products and services. It must also study the US market dynamics and stay ahead of the competition. This will mean appropriate choices of its retail outlets, and opening new channels.

The company must also ensure that distribution channels must catch the attention of customers and employees. There are certain consumers who may not buy some products from certain locations due to different factors such as the distance, insecurity, and pricing among others (Solomon, 2006).

Promotion

Incorporation of promotional strategy is necessary for the development of a business opportunity in a competitive industry. Companies rely on communication for building their brand images and creating awareness about their products. The company must consider the message and tools of communication in order to reach its target market.

Haigh’s Chocolates must consider how to implement its advertisement messages using different media so as to appeal to various segments of the market. It may also engage the use of direct market such as seeking for referrals, public relations, support community-based events, and working on its company brochures and its Website. (Berry and Wilson, 2001)

The company must cover every communication method used in marketing including social media. At the same time, these modes must appeal to various markets of chocolate consumers. These methods must drive traffics and also make people buy chocolate products from its outlets.

This is how to ensure that a company is using an Integrated Marketing Communication strategy and implementing it well. Since there are different channels of communication, the implementing body must ensure that messages are consistent, and remain the same in all media channels. Thus, Haigh’s Chocolates must manage different cases of misinformation if it as different sales forces and separate public relations, or a promotion group i.e. the message must remain the same.

Chocolate industry Outlook in the US

Haigh’s Chocolates has to struggle with well established chocolate companies in the US so as to establish its brand. According to AC Nielsen’s study, consumption of premium chocolate is growing rapidly at 24 percent in the year 2006. In 2007, there was an increment of 3.9 percent.

Given this scenario, companies like Mars Snackfood have taken the advantage by introducing new ranges of premium varieties of its Dove chocolate. Ghirardelli has also increased its varieties of dark chocolate with three new ones. The company based its approach on the growing popularity of dark chocolate brands due to its healthy benefits.

Ghirardelli sales have grown by 49 percent selling dark chocolates between 2003 and 2006 with sales reaching $ 1.2 billion. At the same time, there are also growths in other brands of chocolates. These are some of the competitions that Haigh’s Chocolates must implement its marketing mix while taking account of them.

These companies have diverse ranges of chocolates in healthy and luxury brands. They know that the US consumers want luxury and not average chocolates. In addition, the product must also be healthy and offer sophisticated recipes (Business Services Industry, 2008).

Conclusion

International marketing has grown as firms extended their operations outside their domestic markets. Haigh’s Chocolates must contend with issues of market entry strategy, develop, or adapt its marketing mix for the US market. This must involve thorough decision-making processes. These approaches must aim at identifying satisfying needs and wants of the US chocolate market.

The US chocolate industry has differential advantages and competitive edges in terms of a marketing mix; thus Haigh’s Chocolates must make its products and services attractive and competitive than other competitors’ products and services.

It can only achieve this through using marketing mix techniques. It must also ensure that its marketing mix approach aligns well with its strategic vision of expansion. It must enhance the achievement of long-term goals and help propel the company into the desired future growth in the international market (Johansson, 2009).

Reference List

Berry, T and Wilson, D 2001, On Target: The Book on Marketing Plans, Palo Alto Software Inc, Eugene, OR.

Brassington, F and Pettitt, S 2005, Essentials of Marketing, Pearson Education Limited, Essex.

Business Services Industry 2008, ‘The Premium Chocolate Category in the US Grew by 24% in 2006, Compared with Overall Growth in the Chocolate Market of 3.9%’, United States Food & Drink Report, Q1 2008 , pp. 1-2.

Johansson, J 2009, Global Marketing: Foreign Entry, Local Marketing, & Global Management, 5th ed, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York.

Kotler, P, Wong, V, Saunders, J and Armstrong, G 2005, Principles of Marketing, 4th ed, Pearson Education Limited, Essex.

Solomon, M 2006, Consumer Behavior, Prentice Hall Europe, New Jersey.

Solomon, M, Marshall, G, and Stuart E 2009, Marketing: Real People, Real Decisions: European Edition, Pearson Education Ltd, Boston, MA.

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