Implementation Evaluation Control

(“Through implementation, the company turns the plans into actions. Control consists of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities and taking corrective action where needed.” P.55)

The first several weeks of Mobile Italy will be a trial period to figure out what is working for us and what isn’t, as is natural for many upstart businesses. We will need to see how effective our social media is working to get people to come to our truck. And, of course, we also want to see how well we are doing with the menu. That’s why to start out, the selection will be rather wide (but not excessive), to evaluate what’s selling and what isn’t.

One thing we will be looking for is keeping track of what menu items are selling, and what isn't. Bear in mind that we don't especially NEED a wide selection (Like with the Slider truck). What we want to do at the start is find out what our customers are ordering and what isn't ordering, and weed them out in the coming weeks. Cutting back on dead weight and food items that aren't selling will save us expenses as well as preparation time.

Understanding our customer's taste preferences is essential. What is it they crave on a daily basis? What do they want that the microwave lunch can’t provide? We give them the options, and they figure out which food item is their benefit. And that’s why we need to show that we are far beyond the microwave (“Design begins with observing customers and developing a deep understanding of their needs. More than simply creating product or service attributes, it involves shaping the customer’s product-use experience.” P.216)

Marketing Mix: Price

In fast food, there is a standard markup of 15% (http://www.startupbizhub.com/how-do-you-calculate-the-mark-up-price.htm). Since the markup is a little less than standard, there can be little room for error in pricing our menu. However, by implementing evaluation control, we can mitigate the less popular items as time goes by and we find out who likes what on our menu. This will help keep prices at their best value while mitigating waste in expenses.

Menu prices would be this (taxes not included):
All sandwiches are $3.50 for a 6-inch, and $4.99 for a footlong
Pasta dishes are $3.99 each, with choice of meatball and sauce
Single serving entrees are $5.99 each
Desserts are $1.99 each
Sodas are $1 per can
Bottle water is $1 each

I based these prices on our competitors not just in the food trucks, but also various Italian restaurants and sandwich shops in the area. I also included the 15% markup. I feel that while sales and discounts at the beginning would be counterproductive to us making a profit, I also feel that the customer has the right to pay for the right kind of value in what they are getting. ("More and more, marketers have adopted good-value pricing strategies—offering just the right combination of quality and good service at a fair price." P.277)

Getting input from the customers via our social media sources will help us determine how we should maintain the prices in the future, if they find it too expensive or not. ("More importantly, as a part of a company’s overall value proposition, price plays a key role in creating customer value and building customer relationships" p.275)

Marketing Mix: Distribution

(" The extreme form of this practice is exclusive distribution, in which the producer gives only a limited number of dealers the exclusive right to distribute its products in their territories" p.324)

("Producers of convenience products and common raw materials typically seek intensive distribution" p.323)

Based on the above quotes, I can not see how we would fit into any of the Distribution methods. We are a single food truck, selling food. I find this question rather difficult, in all honesty, because it's asking us to shoehorn a Distribution theory into our business and make it forced. We are a food truck that serves food in the office communities at lunchtime and at the big festivals in town on the weekends. It couldn't be any more clearer than that.

All I really have to say on the matter is that we hope once we're successful and on the rise is perhaps getting a couple more trucks and also exploring the areas of the Las Vegas valley that other food trucks don't normally commute to. It can allow for more profits, assuming that the expenses are kept to a minimum.("As the company expands, a marketing department emerges to plan and carry out marketing activities." p.58).

One thing we would love to do once we're on our feet and established is possibly look into small booths independent of the truck itself at sporting events, festivals. And if we are fortunate enough, maybe we can get our brand sold in local stores, maybe even our own restaurants if we get extremely successful. This is all down the road right now, but it's an ambitious and hopeful goal if all goes well!

Marketing Mix: Promotion

("If properly designed, every sales promotion tool has the potential to build both short-term excitement and long-term consumer relationships." p 433)


The quote above sums this all up perfectly. We are a simple food truck just starting out. We can't afford TV airtime right now for commercials that would most likely air during spots for sex hotlines and "BUY GOLD!" scams. Social Media is not only extremely cheap to free as it is, but it's also become the dominant force in mass communications here in 2011. So, in addition to our obligatory website, of course,  we are going to make the best out of a Facebook page and set up Events on there telling people when and where the truck will be.

With each event page, it will basically provide a schedule of when and where the truck will be on each day and night. That way, people that are nearby (and those who aren't) can know where to catch it for lunch/dinner. ("They can create their own brand-marketing events or serve as sole or participating sponsors of events created by others" p.435) Our Twitter account will be linked to the Facebook page as well so people can receive updates on their smartphones. Also, we will be encouraging personal interaction with our customers as well, so they can send in their suggestions, compliments, complaints, etc. It is essential that we establish a relationship with them so they feel they can a say in how they like their food from Mobile Italy.

What our hope is with this is that the people who find out about our Event pages can spread the word to their friends and suggest them to our Facebook page. Within a month, we hope to build up at least several hundred followers. As the followers grow, so will the attention, and we will also be utilizing press releases for our appearances at the local festivals (such as First Friday)

Marketing Mix: Product

Obviously, our product has its origins in Italian fare. Usually, it's composed of the basic ingredients that you'd find in any homemade Italian meal (Dough, tomato sauces, herbs and spices, pasta, etc.). The menu that would be presented would be based on these very basic ingredients, and with these, they can be essential parts in making our entrees and sandwiches that can become a big hit with our customers.

Our Menu would be this:
-Sandwiches:Meatball, Chicken Parmesan, Philly Cheesesteak, Cold cuts)

-Pasta dishes: (Spaghetti, Pesto, Rigatoni, Linguini, Fettuccine Alfredo)

-Sauces: (Tomato Sauce (Meat, Three Cheese, Garlic), Pesto, Alfredo)

-Entrees: (Chicken Parmesan, Lasagna, Ravioli, Tortellini)

-Desserts (New York Cheesecake, Cannolli, Ice cream)

-Sodas: (Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Root Beer)

-Bottle Water

All would be reasonably priced, of course. What we want to do is see within out first several weeks who likes what on this menu? Is the Meatball sandwich a hit? Is the Ravioli a flop? Furthermore, does a hit sustain itself weeks from now, or do people go for the flop once they find out about it? ("Product life cycle: Some products die quickly: others stay in the mature stage for a long, long time." p.258) In the case of edible food, there's not so much a thing of trends, but what people have been talking about as the item that is a must-order as soon as you see the truck. ("Or they can leapfrog obstacles to slow consumer acceptance and propel new products forward into the growth phase." p.259) With this profession, it's more in our control, and it's up to us how well we make our food and how the people take to it, and if they want more. And interestingly enough, what do WE want to succeed when we cook our food?

Target Marketing Strategy

Being how we are just starting out, we have to be pragmatic and use our best skills to get the truck off the ground. ("If the company is very small, one person might do all of the research, selling, advertising, customer service, and other marketing work" p. 58). We are trying to market two major groups: Working people looking for a viable option on their lunch break that doesn't involve drive thru, and the youth that often attend many of the arts festivals here in town where you often see food trucks at to begin with.

We do indeed have to compete with a lot of other food trucks (Especially the Slider truck) here in town right now. Las Vegas may be a major city, but it is no Metropolis either, and we cannot expect to overtake the Slider truck after only one First Friday. We have to set ambitious, yet modest goals for success to begin our venture. So, the first step would be to maintain a weekly goal of $1000 in profit (after the food and truck expenses, of course) for at least a few weeks, while also building up a following online. Should all go well, the next step would be to evaluate what's been working and what hasn't (such as who's been ordering what and what items don't get any love), and we would weed out what we barely make in orders, maybe even introduce a new menu item.


Another big key is to stay on top of changes to the Social media functions, such as any changes Facebook makes to it's layout. If it can provide an opening to a new form of promotion, it must be take immediately.("Marketing strategies and programs can quickly become outdated, and each company should periodically reassess its overall approach to the marketplace." p.58).

Situation/SWOT Analysis

Please note that the SWOT analysis stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. ("It should analyze company strengths and weaknesses as well as current and possible marketing actions to determine which opportunities it can best pursue." p.56)

Strengths include the ability to organize online with Facebook to get people to come, and to coordinate with when and where the truck will be. Its mobility is obviously the biggest asset here, not only being able to reach differing areas of the Las Vegas valley, but also giving our customers the proper advance notice. The Facebook can also give us a way to communicate with the customer directly and get input on how we are doing, good and bad. ("Sales promotions should help to reinforce the product’s position and build long-term customer relationships" p.433)

Weaknesses include the human factor. Can three people be enough to handle this kind of constant cooking and preparation? Also, how far can the social media front go for? Will people pay attention to the Facebook event pages and actually come?

Opportunities include the potential for a standout in bringing good Italian entrees and delis on wheels into the Las Vegas area, and using the Facebook to organize and get a significant turnout that can grow in the coming months.

Threats include the other food trucks that are consistently growing in the valley that are already staking claims at the events and parking lots. Another is allowing ourselves to lapse and fall behind and get too complacent with the potential success that the quality of food begins to suffer, as well as the customer service. Also, the customers themselves. People can be flighty. Will we have regulars that will come back and eat with us again and again over time.

Objectives

We want to serve Italian food on the go that can give a quality experience and gain returning customers, as well help influence them to tell others about us. We plan to achieve this through providing a guarantee of your order being ready in ten minutes of less from the time your order. We also want to utilize the growing avenues of social media to help get the word out about the truck and get people lined up as soon as it arrives at a specific location.

While some items would be cooked before the truck set out on its daily run, much of the food preparation would be done inside the truck. There would be three people inside, all ready to take an order and do the cooking to keep things flowing. Keeping on top of things in there is essential to good customer service.

The big key to this getting off the ground is Facebook event pages. A Facebook page would be set up for this truck, and event pages would be set up subsequently with each stop the truck would make and at which time. It helps give people advance notice. I cannot stress how vital this will be to our success and organizing people to come out to the truck when they are in the neighborhood.

With this, we also want to establish a one-on-one relationship with our customers, and make them feel a part of the process. With our online services, they are encouraged to complain all they want, compliment our food, and make whatever suggestions they wish as long as it’s constructive and it helps improve their experience.

Business Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide the best in Italian Cooking while providing speedy service. They deserve the best, and we can offer it. And in ten minutes or less, always on the go to various businesses in the Las Vegas valley.

Our target customer is the everyday working man. Each day at lunch hour, our truck will bring our cooking to them in the parking lot/street corners of their places of business. We also seek out the general public in attendance at many of a festival or event in the area, providing an inexpensive selection of food for many attendees. (Profits are only a reward for creating value for customers. Instead, the mission should focus on customers and the customer experience the company seeks to create. P.41)

We want to serve the best in to-go Italian cuisine here in Las Vegas. We have various single-person entrees, sandwiches, pasta dishes, as well as fine desserts ready to be made in ten minutes or less, and for a low price here. We want to give our customers the best in Italian cuisine and a wonderful experience in quality and customer service that they eagerly await our truck every day. (Some companies define their missions myopically in product or technology terms (“We make and sell furniture” or “We are a chemical-processing firm”). But mission statements should be market oriented and defined in terms of satisfying basic customer needs. P.40)

Our goal to give speedy service without sacrificing the quality or cutting corners with generic ingredients. We will use real and true Italian recipes, and with all the kicks that release the true flavor in our meals. We also want to provide our food to as much as Las Vegas as possible (Henderson, North Las Vegas, Anthem, Summerlin, etc.). People will know when our truck is coming by the scent of our cooking being vented out of the truck, explicitly to let people know we are near. (Kohler’s overall objective is to build profitable customer relationships by developing efficient yet beautiful products that embrace the “essence of gracious living.” p.43)

Week 8 EOC: Creative Concept

As stated before, the truck would be called Mobile Italy, and the approach to gaining customers would be made through Social Networking and Direct Marketing. It is very important that a base of customers is established as quickly as possible so that we not only have regular customers, but also the base to build on through their connections. I feel that a personal communication with them is essential, to make it feel at home (" Direct marketers communicate directly with customers, often on a one-to-one, interactive basis. Using detailed databases, they tailor their marketing offers and communications to the needs of narrowly defined segments or even individual buyers." p.445). A Facebook account would be essential to this. We start by adding their friends, and we have them suggest friends to the Facebook profile. While this is going on, event pages would be set up letting people know when and where the truck will be. This would not be for a specific day, but for each stop. Personal communication via Facebook and Twitter is also essential because of the potential to establish one-on-one relationships with the customers, hear their compliments and their concerns and their suggestions to improve the menu and quality of the food (“Because of the one-to-one nature of direct marketing, companies can interact with customers by phone or online, learn more about their needs, and tailor products and services to specific customer tastes. In turn, customers can ask questions and volunteer feedback” p.447). We would also introduce a blog on our website that keeps updates on where the truck has been, pictures from said events (with lines of people waiting and eating), as well as posting customer reviews and input. Also, any video taken of said events that are posted on YouTube would certainly be exploited on these blogs. It’s the best commercial material out there right now.

Since funds are obviously limited for our start, I feel this is the best approach right now apart from an ad campaign that would be too expensive to produce at this time. Not to mention the better broad range it can reach in this digital age. Getting set up is the hard part, but once established, it can become the best tool. (“’You’re talking about conversations between groups of friends,’ says one analyst. “And in those conversations a brand has no right to be there, unless the conversation is already about that brand.” Rather than intruding, marketers must learn to become a valued part of the online experience.” p.469)

Week 7 EOC: Market Plan

It’s a true Italian cuisine on the move, named Mobile Italy. It serves freshly cooked Italian food in lunch sizes, such as pasta dishes with varieties of sauces, cooked homemade meatballs in a steamer to keep them fresh, condensed Italian entrees (Chicken/Eggplant/Veal Parmesan, Lasagna, Sausage, Chicken Marsala, fried cutlets) ready in a to-go box, and their respective sides (Breadsticks, garlic bread, brochetta, mashed potatoes, dipping sauces). Finally, we would have a selection of subs (Chicken Parmesan, Meatball/Marinara, Philly Cheesesteak, Sausage).

We would also serve Desserts such as Cannoli, Cheesecake and Gelato Ice Cream would also be available. Since I want this to be true to Italian cooking, we’d only have the food that could be cooked in a short amount of time between stops, hence the one-person portion sizes and whatever can be fired up or cooked in a few minutes. The goal is ten minutes, tops.

The truck would be painted with the colors of the Italian flag, with a retractable sun roof in red. Also on the truck would be fans that would blow out the air inside the truck, giving the aroma of Italian cooking from nearby and getting everybody’s attention (and hunger). It would have a staff of four on board inside, constantly cooking and taking orders.

Beverages would be sold by the can/bottle. And the usual utensils and napkins would be available at the corner of the open window, where the cash register would be placed, to make it accessible for the customer and save the cooks from the extra task of providing them.

Promotion would start with the basic Facebook/Twitter accounts and spreading the word by creating event pages on where the truck will be on a certain day and time, so people can plan ahead and be ready when the truck arrives. We would also become a presence at local Vegas events (StardustFallout knows when a lot of off-Strip events occur). We hope that the public will spread the word and invite their friends to these meetups for lunch and dinner!

EOC Week 5: Social Networks and Job Hunting

This was clearly inevitable, and very much preferable. Prospective employers are turning to Facebook to look for new talent these days. It's even on par, if not above, LinkedIn at this point ("Facebook's use as a job-recruitment tool remains small, but its appeal may be growing. Others note that while LinkedIn contains a more comprehensive résumé database, candidates tend to value referrals from their connections on Facebook more.", Light article). It is also very much cheaper to search through those than post something on a job board for a few hundred dollars at the Unemployment office. However, this is still that feeling among some that they wouldn’t want employers looking through their Facebooks, especially if they’re concerned with the personal image it projects. That’s why they still prefer LinkedIn. Even the very much useless Monster.com is benefiting from this (“Monster's core job postings businesses have benefited. Revenue in the second quarter at Monster Worldwide Inc. rose 25% to $270 million from the prior year.”, Light article).

Another tactic that, I feel, can only go so far is these PR agents that companies are sending out there to hype up your product. They use these social media websites to plug the product and all its benefits and features, in exchange for some small compensation, probably off commission (“Brand ambassadors: Marketing agency RepNation recruits and manages college student ambassadors such as CrewBlue, which spreads the word about JetBlue on college campuses”, page 144). The problem I see with this is that you will have your typical “Brand Ambassador” that is purely in it for the money, and it shows when they try to sell the product and it comes across half assed. Another is that it can also too aggressive and drive off a potential sale by pushing it too far.

EOC Week 4: Consumer vs. Business Marketing

Consumer marketing is based on the need for the product (“business demand is derived demand—it ultimately comes from (derives from) the demand for consumer goods…If consumer demand for computers drops, so will the demand for microprocessors., page 39”). It appeals to the direct need of the consumer and what the product can give to them that don’t seem so apparent on the surface. For example, your train company wants to buy locomotives from GE, but you’re concerned about the image it’ll project to the general public, the consumer marketing tries to sidestep it all (“GE locomotives might not seem glamorous to you, but they are beautiful brutes to those who buy and use them. In this market, GE’s real challenge is to win buyers’ business by building day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out partnerships with them”- page 40). Whereas Business marketing is a more complex situation dealing with the little details and formalities, to establish a long-term and satisfactory relationship with the customer (“In the long run, however, business-to-business marketers keep a customer’s sales and create customer value by meeting current needs and by partnering with customers to help them solve their problems”- page 40).

Another major difference is that Business marketing relies on the emotional aspect of the deal, playing to get their good relations, such as taking a sense of pride in your product. Consumers are more into the aspect of getting their needs satisfied, and as efficiently as possible in the least amount of time. No time to get all emotional about it.

The final difference is that Consumer marketing adjusts with the times. For example, AutoZone has ditched the grungy look for a brightly image. Business, on the other hand, goes back to that long term customer goal, so that no matter the economy or the times, they continue to use your brand on a consistent basis.