Week 10 EOC: Benefits vs. Features

There's really one significant comparison between the benefits and features of my Italian food truck. We offer features in the variety of entrees, sandwiches, pasta dishes, beverages and desserts. For whatever can be prepared in ten minutes or less, we also manage to keep it a pretty wide selection for many people to choose from. It is much like how you can select from 100 different shades of lipstick and have a ball with it. We have customers who seek something cold and low fat, and we have customers who want to experience the Taste of Italy to go. There needs to be an option for everyone (“Dividing the market into segments according to the different benefits that consumers seek from the product. P.182)

But you’ll have many people (like myself), that would like to get a certain item each time the truck comes by. And that’s where the benefit comes in. If you are that much in love with a certain entrée or whatever, then why would you want to waste your time and money on another product you know you wouldn’t like as much? (A sensational style may grab attention and produce pleasing aesthetics, but it does not necessarily make the product perform better. P.215) And that is why it is very important to provide true Italian cooking. You want these people to get food from you and not have to trek all the way to Buca Di Peppo for family sized meals at higher cost.

Our customer’s favorite tastes are the big need. 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)

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).