A Business Marketing Plan: Hunger Solution & Training Company Essay

Introduction This paper contains a marketing plan of a small production company that is earmarked to be established in Gardnerville, the suburb of Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, my country of origin. The business which is to be named â€Å"Hunger Solution & Training Company† derived its name from the decade-long civil war that existed in Liberia that resulted into most of the citizens and other nationals of this country being internally displaced. These people which comprise of men, women, children, and other nationals, moved into the small capital of the country and its suburbs, making it very congested in terms of population. Others fled into neighboring countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Guinea, and Togo. Due to the high rate of unemployment, most of the domestic farmers and others who were engaged in other businesses for survivals are unable to afford two or three sumptuous meals a day, leaving them and their children poor and hungry. Hunger Solution & Training Company is a not-for-profit Cassava-Powder Production Company founded on January 13, 2012. The Company produces cassava powder, a food that is widely consumed by 99% of the Liberian population in the country. Since cassava is a major crop in the country and there is a growing demand from its consuming public, the purpose of this Company is to cater to this hunger need of the growing number of the Liberian populace as well as those who are unemployed. The company will distribute its product to neighboring Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo who are users of this product and also hosting most of the Liberian citizens as refugees. The Company will also train and empower local farmers to re-use their farmlands, engage in large-scale farming, and make them to bring their produce to the company to be changed into cassava powder for marketing and distribution. Cassava Powder or cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics. It is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for around 500 million people. It is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava (Faintuch Ceccenello, I. I., 2011). In Ghana, cassava Powder can be made into (fufu) and consumed with all kinds of soup: palm-butter soup, pepper soup, okra soup, and etcetera. In Liberia, cassava can be used to in different ways; it is made into fufu, farina, first solid food for babies, as well as achekeh. It can be used with many ingredients that add up to nourish the body. As you delve deeper into the paper, you will read about the strategies used to explain the product in terms of its primary characteristics, service component, and how it can be used for enhancement. You will read how the product can be expanded to product line with regards to the depth and breadth of the line. You have an insight of how the core business may change in response to industry and market changes and how this product can create an image in the mind of its consumers and entrepreneurs. You will further read about domestic and global product branding, pricing, and distribution strategies for cassava powder product and training initiated by Hunger Solution & Training Company. Further discussion will determine, detail, and examine how these branding, pricing, and distribution strategies support the cassava product and training services of the Company. A distribution channel will also be highlighted analyzing and identifying the wholesaler, retailer, and distributor relationship. If the strategy will be considered push or pull, it will be justified through the rationale that will be outlined in the paper. As you will advance further, you will discern how the distribution strategy fits the product and training aspect of the Company with regards to service, target market, and the Company’s overall marketing strategy. The Company will ensure that its product and training are essential to the needs of the Liberian consuming public as well as their manpower development. You will also read about the Company’s advertising strategy and how this approach will bring into line the Company’s marketing goals. It will be determined how effectively the advertising will be measured and how the different promotional strategies relevant to the Company advertising will be utilized. Further discussion will establish the best marketing research approach used to measure customer satisfaction with the Company’s product (cassava powder) and training service initiated to train farmer in implementing large-scale farming. It will be explained how gaps in customer expectations and experiences will be addressed by the marketing wing of the Company, using the high knowledge and proficiency of experienced and well-schooled people in marketing management. Type of Product and its Primary Characteristics This marketing plan will also engulf vision of the company, its mission statement, product and services, and underlying factor of the business. The plans will also contain a vivid description of the company in terms of its business product as well as SWOT analysis to demonstrate its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A market target segmentation of customers, strategic mission, and its foreign expansion will be made to give a clear picture how the business will implement its transactions in and out of the country. Vision Statement Hunger Solution & Training Company determines to provide its customers with cassava powder that will be used for food consumption and empower its local farmers and others to engage into re-using their farm lands for growing cassava that will be made into cassava powder and to carry out large-scale farming. Mission Statement The mission of Hunger Solution & Training Company is to provide cassava powder to its customers for consumption in a safe and quiet way. The Company will also empower local farmers by training them and others to re-use their farmlands for growing cassava crop that will be brought to the Company for cassava powder making. Foreign Market and Rationale Since the Company is ideally located in Gardnerville, the suburb of Monrovia, it has resolved to extend its operations to neighboring Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria respectively. The major reason for this extension emanates from that fact that most of the Liberians nationals that fled the decade-long civil war migrated to these countries as refugees and are unemployed, living on subsistent businesses. Besides, the people of these countries (Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo) widely use plantain powder product, yam powder product, and cassava powder product in various ways for consumption. Management Team The Company is run and managed by four persons: John Garven, General Manager, Vonyee Garven, Chief Financial Officer, and Immanuel Garven, Director for Training and Development. Devon Okoro is the Marketing manager, while 25 other workers work in various sectors of the company. Market Segment Hunger Solution & Training Company (HSTC) targets all sectors of people who are found in Monrovia and its suburbs. It also concentrates on those in the rural areas where there are enough land to carry out large-scale farming. It also targets other nationals like the Nigerians, Ghanaians, Togolese, as well as Hispanic populations who are consumers of this product and living in Liberia. The Company’s product will also cater to women, men, children as well as babies. Since the country is underdeveloped and indigent, many of its vast unemployed citizens live on less than an American dollar ($1.00 USD) per day. Besides, the civil fracas contributed largely to deplorable living conditions of its people. The Company also targets to train farmers who migrated from the rural areas of the country and displaced in Monrovia as a result the civil war, and those unemployed wanting to engage in large-scale farming. SWOT Analysis The spirit of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of the company is defined relative to other providers in the market, and how the company can identify and capitalize on its strengths, weaknesses, as well as exploring opportunities that can boost the company capabilities and weaknesses that could lead to its collapse, if not worked upon ( Powerhouse Marketing Plans, 2004). In this regards, the following are considered as SWOT analysis of Hunger Solution & Training Company: Strengths: The Company is given several thousand acres of land by government and townspeople in many of the country’s rural towns and villages for large-scale farming. It has a lot of farming machines, like tractors, equipment for sloughing the land, etcetera. There are other tools necessary to enhance smooth farming. It also has volunteer workers who will work for six months without pay. The management team is skilled in the area of business and has the capability to trains others to be productive. The company has donors that cater to 75% of its financial needs. Due to its supportive concept of alleviating the government to reduce the high rate of illiteracy, it is being subsidized by government. Weaknesses: The Company does not have vehicles that are accessible to the bad road condition in terms of conveying its product into some parts of the rural areas as well as its neighboring countries. As the results goods are delayed. Most of its workers are not trained as distributing and operating agents. Opportunities There is an availability of donor organizations in the United States and other developed countries in alacrity to sponsor such venture. NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) are present in the countries wanting to sponsor companies that have such programs. Threats: Bad road condition during the rainy season thwarts the efforts of good delivery of the company’s products. Another disadvantage that is envisaged is government regulations and the willingness of the internally displaced people to go back and settle into their counties of origin. Industry Analysis It is researched and understood that business of this nature is most time not taken on by a minute group of entrepreneurs but rather the government, which creates the means for multiple sponsorship that vehemently reduce its high rate of unemployment and contribute largely to replenishing its economy. The chief food product (cassava product) is a good business that has a huge competitive advantage in other countries that have this product as their chief product of consumption. Form this research survey, it is noticed that there is a need for the establishment of this company in Liberia since the country has none. Products and Services The selection of this product and training by â€Å"Hunger Solution & Training Company† is contingent upon my desire to enable everyone to at least afford a day’s meal and to empower people who are unemployed to get a job to do. In this regards, the company is considered as â€Å"light in darkness† for the Liberian people. The product is to be consumed by all of the people of Liberia including children as young as five months and to the elderly as old as eighty-five years. It offers a very cheap price that even the long-time unemployed workers can afford. Marketing Product # 2 Type of Product and its Primary Characteristics The selection of this product (cassava powder) and training by â€Å"Hunger Solution & Training Company† is contingent upon the desire to enable everyone to at least afford a day’s meal and to empower people who are unemployed to get a job to do. In this regards, the company is considered as â€Å"light in darkness† for the Liberian people. The product is consumed by all of the people of Liberia including children young as five months and to the elderly as old as eighty-five years. It offers a cheap price that even the long-time unemployed workers can afford. Beside the training program that is to be initiated and implemented by this company, it would specialize in the production of cassava powder. This product can be made into dumplings, fufu, stews, and gravies. The powder can also be made into bread, and milky pudding, similar to rice pudding. The major specialty it would offer is to create a good taste of preference to all that would use it to satisfy their consumption needs. The company will adapt to the improvement of quality standards so that maximum satisfaction is assured. Due to this, the company will also experiment with other new tenets of flavor that will enrich the taste of the original product, which will be made available to its consumers. An example would be cassava bread, milky pudding, gravies, stews and dumplings. Service Component of the Product Since a product is simply a marketing offering, that can be tangible or intangible and satisfy the consumption wants of the consumers, a service component of a product is the means that is devised to create interest in the mind of the consumer to purchase the product. This can be achieved through advertising the product on electronic or print media, or creating the awareness for purchasing. However, since the company is the sole producer and distributor of this product, it becomes a priority for the company to motivate and satisfy the needs of its consumers. In order to successfully implement this, the company must probe into complaints and dissatisfaction that will ensue from its customers. They must be given first preference and their complaints must be perfectly dealt with to assure them that without them the company will not exist. They will also be given discount like (buy three get one free); this will help to entice more customers including window shoppers and will give the company edge over other competitors. For the training aspect, free six-week training will be made available to those customers who will make the highest purchase of the product. Hence, the type of product that will be marketed by my company will be cassava powder, a product made from grinding dried cassava. This finished product can be made into fufu and other nutritional dish that can satisfy one’s hunger needs. In this regards, the company will become the chief distributors to wholesalers and retailers. There will also be a store operated by the company that will also carry out these sales. This product is one of the best sources of carbohydrates, nutrients that are used to nourish the body. Expansion of the Product to Product Line and Its Depth and Breadth of the Line â€Å"Hunger Solution & Training Company† does not only operate in the production of cassava product at affordable low cost, but also provide Organic Health Care food categorized as dumpling, milky pudding, cassava bread, as well as stews and gravies. The company’s media house offers tangibility of information and theses nutritional products that will go along with its chief product, the cassava powder. The free six-week training program for customers who will make the highest purchases in one month is advantageous for people who will be ready to engage in large-scale farming. Core Business Response to Industry and Market Changes If there is a change in business which may be a drop in sale that may result from market changes, the company may initiate downsizing and create a frictional job until these determining factors of the business are improved. Besides this, opportunities to explore that will contribute to improving the condition of the company’s sales; even in worsening situation will be initiated. Extension of this business will be geared at exploring opportunities that will yield diversification and staunch economic benefits as well as exploring changes that will epitomize response to industry and market changes. Conclusion A good marketing plan involves the use of several ingredients that form the mechanisms in which a person should be fortified with the understanding of the elements of marketing, in order to make a good decision. It is tenets of the company’s vision and mission, foreign market and management team, as well as its market segment and SWOT analysis. A good marketing plan engulfs marketing product which is the bait and tool a company or business entity uses to satisfy the needs and wants of its customers; it is the prerogative of the company to make this product attractive and affordable. 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