Marketing assignment essay help online:Godiva Gems in Singapore Market
Introduction
Godiva Gems is one of the premium brand chocolate found in Brussel, Belgium in 1926. It is the largest selling chocolate brand in US market after being introduced in US market. Godiva today has established itself as one of the premium chocolates because it has developed products according to the tastes and the preferences of its customers and has developed a marketing strategy which helped it to excel in the various chocolates market around the world. It is a chocolate brand which has targeted the higher segment of market, making it the most desirable chocolate used for special treats and occasions, the company has completed its successful 85 years of serving customers because of its effective marketing strategy (Green, 1979). They have operations in various other countries and they are doing their best to penetrate in every market wherever they are expanding.
Segmentation: Targeting, positioning strategies
Being a premium brand in the chocolate market, the marketing strategy developed for Godiva also focuses on the higher segment of people.
The market segment of Singapore was done by initially deciding which is the target market for this premium chocolate brand? As there are very less competitors in this segment in the Singapore market, it was very easy for Godiva to penetrate into the Singapore and thus establish its products there. So it targeted the luxury segment of market and the identified which would be the suitable and most preferred target audience for it. There is a increasing demand for chocolate sin the Singapore market as it was identified through a market research. The only tough competitor for Godiva in the Singapore market was Nestle and so it had to develop strategy which would help it to face the challenges given by Nestle. They made an effective analysis of the Singapore market and identified which are the key areas to be targeted, after in the luxury segment itself. The research clarified which what is the average rate of demand of chocolate, and then it developed products which were according to the needs of those customers. On the basis of their intensive research methodology they identified which would be the places where they can actually place their product keeping in mind the places to be accessible by the higher segment of people. They started a policy of selling through their own chain stores (Boutique) where different variety of Godiva can be available at the same place, Singapore market offers them a large segment of people who come into this luxury segment, so Singapore itself provides them a wider base of luxury segment, where they can actually find and target their customers.
Godiva respects the culture and the eating habits of people of Singapore an all its products focuses on this particular concept of providing the premium quality to their customers.
After proper market segmentation is should be decided which are the markets to be targeted and where the product should be positioned (Baines & Mortimore, 2005), that included which are the places where Godiva could be sold effectively to gain more market share.
Positioning and Product Differentiation:
Positioning is a strategy by which any company creates a impression of the same product in customers mind. And for this purpose they use the accurate place, price and above all an effective promotional scheme and branding strategy so that they can actually reach and penetrate the customer’s perception and emotion (Hooley & Saunders, 1993).
As Godiva have targeted the higher segment of people its positioning strategy was based on the culture and the mentality of the luxury segment of people. This involved deep research of the luxury segment, which are they places which they like to visit for their buying habits and various other purposes.
To make a strong position in market, Godiva Gems adopted various positioning strategies and branding strategies for Singapore market. They usually target to the premium customer segment and luxury segment. To attract the customers they came up with the kind of customized chocolates for the customers (Baines, 2005). Now the customers could place orders for the customized chocolates at Godiva stores. This was a kind of unique strategy to position in the market as a unique chocolate brand. They also came up with various other strategies like they decided to sell their product to various drug and grocery stores rather than just keeping it synchronized to their own chain stores. With these various product discrimination and variation they made a strong penetration to Singapore market. As per the market research they were already knowing the customer’s viewpoint towards their brand i.e. Godiva Gems. The customers had already shown their concern that Godiva Gems is best suitable option for the purpose of gifting to seniors, others who are caring for us. This was a kind of impression making product for most of the customers.
Marketing Mix strategy
Godiva Gems has developed a market strategy which has helped it to establish it any of the market it enter be it US or Singapore because it focuses on the cultural habit of the people of the respective country.
The marketing mix strategy of Godiva gems in Singapore market focuses on the philosophy which is very simple and unique; they focus on variety as well as quality.
Marketing Mix:
1)Product-Godiva Gems
Godiva Gem is diversified in itself because it offers a different variety in different flavors like Truffles, caraques, marzipans, chocolate bars, bouchees, fruit flavors etc. Each chocolate has its own flavor chocolate, color and texture which are liked by all.
Godiva Gems initial strategy was where it focused on the luxury segment and initially developed those set of chocolates which was used for various special occasions and their target audience was only the higher class of people. But later on as Godiva stared spreading in Singapore market, It diversified into product segment like Nippon, Noix Macadamia which has now reached the general stores, and the grocery shops where people from middle class can also buy. The making of Godiva chocolate is itself a very intensive process using special production techniques. So, different variety of product for different segment of market has made this product more popular in Singapore.
2)Pricing Strategy
The pricing strategy for is such that even in the tough economic condition it does not face a recession because it appeals to the emotions of the people. So people in tough condition do not hesitate to buy it. It focuses on the higher end customers and so the price for it is high but its good quality people forget its price.
Godiva is one of the largest selling chocolate brands in Singapore, and this is because of its effective pricing strategy. There are tax rules and regularity policies for any country, and so it is for Singapore. Singapore government has its own regulatory policies and taxation laws, which Godiva has to follow and comply with taxation policies. The mark up price of Godiva is such that it can be afforded by its higher segment market, but now Godiva Gems has started focusing on the casual buying segment and so it has also developed products and candies, the price for it is slightly lower than the higher segment market.
The higher mark up price of Godiva is because of its innovative technology used in the production process. It utilize a concept of production which provides Godiva chocolate a unique taste, texture and color. Godiva is different from any other chocolate in Singapore because of immense good quality and so it is priced higher than any other chocolate.
The packaging of Godiva is itself very unique, stylish and attractive which attract a lot of customers and is appealing in its own way. So it is a well known concept for any company that the revenue generated by its should be higher than the cost incurred by it and so the price of Godiva is higher than other chocolate sold in Singapore and its impressive texture and quality actually overshadows its price and people love to but it for their special ones and for special treat and occasions.
3)Promotional Strategy
For Any company to prosper in the market it is essential that it should be presented in front of the its target market in such a way that they are attracted to it (Tellis, 1998), and the same was done was done by Godiva Gems uses different promotional strategy like in store promotion, sampling promotion, and web based promotions.
Godiva used a special wed based promotional scheme where it targeted a special group of customers. People who visited the page were offered a free sample and in turn Godiva could capture the details of the visiting audience. In this way it could develop a database of those customers who were actually interested in buying the chocolates.
There were other promotional schemes like they went to corporate functions and seminars and sponsored them, or may be distributed a free sample which brought them in the eye of several of customers and thus again built a pool of customers for it (Hooley & Saunders, 1993).
Sales people from Godiva can be frequently seen in the central parks in Singapore where they are distributing free samples to people, and may be in a fashion show in Singapore. So Godiva people use different means and techniques to attract potential customers toward it. The packaging of Godiva is itself very attractive which will lure anybody and specially the chocolate lovers.
Its uses various advertising medium like television, radios, posters, hoardings for their strong branding and promotional purposes. The attractive advertisement of Godiva itself speaks that it is one of the premium products .As this product is for the higher segment of people the advertisement done by it is also such that it focuses on the luxury class of people. The concept of free sample distribution has been also very helpful in its promotion because it targeted the newer segment of customers (Tellis, 1998). It uses the concept of direct marketing where Singapore people often receive phone calls and e-mails, and tell them about the promotional scheme of Godiva. Such phone call may be regarding the customer feedback or may be promotional schemes or may be opening of new stores in the nearest market. Such promotional schemes will keep the people informed about Godiva, its new products and its recent outlets.
4)Place
Pace denotes the market which is being targeted by the Godiva for its selling. This particular place is elected after a proper targeting and positioning of the product. The market research done by Godiva Gems specifies which market it should target and who will be its target audience. The place should be such that it will answer why it is placed there and how it will be beneficial for the company. for this reason Godiva placed its product in the hypermarket the super market and malls were people frequently visited. There are various hypermarket in Singapore which is major center of attraction for luxury segment, so one can surely see Godiva stores in such malls. But now as Godiva has been a frequent buying chocolate for other segments and it is getting attracted for some middle higher class people also, we can now find Godiva in the nearest grocery store and may be in a drug store. So the place decided by Godiva is such that it targets the right set of customers and is reachable by the maximum set of customers.
Conclusion
To penetrate into Singapore market, Godiva Gems were using different kinds of marketing and product differentiation strategy. They were also going for their franchisee and selling their product to various drug and grocery stores. These are the various steps to make themselves more competitive to gain a good growth in Singapore market.
They took an effective step and their strategic formulation was also unique that made them more effective and competitive and in a short span of time they could grab a good chunk of market share rather than facing a huge competition in the market due to presence of various other brands like Nestle and many more. If these kinds of strong competitors are already present in the market, then it becomes tougher for the new entrants to grab the market share. At this situation it is quite important to adopt unique and effective strategies to make a strong penetration in the market (Green, 1979).
According to me, Godiva Gems is doing a good job in terms of penetration to Singapore market. Their strategic determination and effective product placement strategies are making them effective competitive and market player in Singapore market. They should keep themselves focused towards the same strategic aspects and move ahead with the same force to penetrate into Singapore market.
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