The Tim Hortons Company’s Marketing Plan

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Introduction

Tim Hortons is a coffee and doughnut chain founded in Canada in 1964. The company offers a wide variety of coffee and tea drinks, as well as baked goods such as doughnuts, muffins, and cookies. Tim Hortons is one of Canada’s largest quick-service restaurant chains, with over 4,000 locations (Tim Hortons, 2020). The company maintains its position as a leader in the quick-service restaurant industry through its team of scientists and engineers who work on developing new products and improving existing ones. In addition, Tim Hortons is constantly innovating to offer its customers new products and experiences. Recently, the company has introduced new products such as the Dark Roast, the Espresso, and the Beyond Meat sandwich. It has also been experimenting with new store formats, such as drive-thrus and express locations.

Tim Hortons is committed to providing excellent customer service. The company can answer inquiries and resolve issues facing the vast clientele through its team of customer service representatives. It also has a toll-free customer service number that customers can call to speak to a representative. Tim Hortons is focused on efficiency in all aspects of its business. The company has streamlined its operations to minimize waste and maximize productivity. The company has also invested in technology, such as automated coffee machines, to help make its stores more efficient.

Competitive Market Analysis

In general, Tim Hortons does well compared to its competitors in the coffee and fast-food industry, such as Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. However, a SWOT analysis by Shastri (2021) identified the following as Tim Hortons’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The company’s strengths include its strong brand identity, a loyal customer base, a significant market share, strong online presence, and fairly priced, good quality products and a wide range of menu items. However, the company has some weaknesses, such as limited health options, insufficient up-to-date market data, and inadequate quality control funding. Opportunities for the company include expanding into new markets, increasing its online presence, increasing sales, and introducing new menu items. Lastly, threats to the company include intensifying competition from other coffee chains, the rise of specialty coffee shops, changing consumer tastes, and high prices of raw materials.

Principle #1 – The Marketing Concept

Introducing hamburgers at Tim Hortons would bring variety to the menu, thus improving customer satisfaction. This could increase customer traffic, higher average customer spending, and brand awareness/recognition. These benefits could lead to increased profits for the company. Additionally, introducing hamburgers could help Tim Hortons compete better against other fast-food restaurants.

Principle #2 – Satisfying Customer Needs & Wants

Tim Hortons is known for its coffee and baked goods, so customers may not have time to sit down and enjoy a full meal. Hamburgers would satisfy the needs/wants of these customers by providing them with a quick and easy meal option. It would also provide Tim Hortons with a new menu item that would appeal to a wider range of customers.

Principle #3 – Market Segmentation

When introducing hamburgers to Tim Hortons’ restaurants, I would likely focus on segments of the market that would be receptive to the product. These market segments include families with young children, young adults, and seniors. These segments will likely be interested in hamburgers as a quick and easy meal, a casual dining option, or a hearty and filling meal.

Principle #4 – Marketing Mix

It would be important to evaluate the controllable factors through the 4 Ps to market hamburgers to the target market segment. This involves the incorporation of product, price, place, and promotion. The product would be hamburgers and must be of high quality to attract customers and compete with other fast-food restaurants. The price of the hamburger would need to be competitive with other fast-food restaurants, allowing the company to make a profit and attract customers. The hamburgers would need to be available at all Tim Hortons locations and be easy to find and purchase to satisfy the place aspect of the 4Ps. Finally, Tim Hortons would need to promote the new hamburgers to attract customers. This could be done through advertising, social media, or discount offers.

The marketing mix also requires using the PESTLE framework to scan the external macro environment in which an organization operates. This framework includes political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that must be considered before and after the introduction of hamburgers to Tim Hortons. Considering all these factors, the best possible plan can be created to help ensure the success of introducing hamburgers at Tim Hortons.

Principle #5 – Value and Exchange Process

The Value/Exchange process is all about creating value for the customer. In this case, introducing hamburgers to Tim Hortons will create value for the customers by providing them with a new and convenient way to get their burger fix. This quick and easy meal option will give customers more value for their money since it allows them to choose from a wider variety of menu items. Customers will be willing to pay a slightly higher price for their meals in exchange for this increased value.

Principle #6 – Product Life Cycle

When introducing a new hamburger to Tim Hortons, the company would ideally go through the following steps in the product life cycle:

Introduction: Tim Hortons would release a new hamburger with great fanfare, including advertising and promotions to generate interest and excitement.
Growth: In this stage, the sale would increase as customers try out and become familiar with the new hamburger.
Maturity: The new hamburger would become a staple item on the Tim Hortons menu, and sales would level off as customers become used to it. The cost of marketing and production has decreased, making it the most profitable stage in the product life cycle.
Decline: eventually, sales of the hamburger would begin to decline as customers get tired of it and move on to other menu items. Increased competition from other fast-food companies would also cause the decline.

Activating your Partnership

A few potential partnerships could help support Tim Hortons’ hamburger marketing success. A partnership with a local grocery store could help increase the burgers’ exposure and availability. In addition, a partnership with a local restaurant or food truck could help to promote the burgers to a wider audience, whereas partnering with a local event or festival could help to generate buzz and excitement around the burgers.

Conclusion

By utilizing effective marketing strategies such as advertising, promotions, and product placement, the introduction of hamburgers at Tim Hortons would be a success. Hamburgers would not only increase variety in the menu for customers but also increase the average order value and help Tim Hortons boost its profits.

References

Shastri, A. (2021). Detailed SWOT Analysis of Tim Hortons – 2021 Update | IIDE. IIDE the Digital School; IIDE. Web.

Tim Hortons. (2020). Tim Hortons. Www.timhortons.ca. Web.

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