Final Project: Target Market Strategy

In the book target market is described as; “A set of buyers sharing common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve." Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th ED. Prentice Hall Publishing. Glossary. My target market is families, food junkies, hungry construction workers, and tourists from downtown. “After a company has decided which market segments to enter, it must decide how it will differentiate its market offering for each targeted segment and what positions it wants to occupy in those segments. A product’s position is the place the product occupies relative to competitors’ products in consumers’ minds. Marketers want to develop unique market positions for their products. If a product is perceived to be exactly like others on the market, consumers would have no reason to buy it.” Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th ED. Prentice Hall Publishing. Pg. 52. I want families to enjoy the atmosphere. I want those picky kids to leave happy. But I also want people who love food to come and enjoy my hot dogs. I want those people who want to try something new to come. With the amount of construction going on right now, I want those workers to have a hot meal. But I would also love to get the tourists in this town. With the amount of tourists here, I feel it would be a great idea. Tourists generally come to a new place to experience the culture. Food trucks are part of our culture. In America, we eat fatty foods. I can give people fatty foods that are not over processed. I can give the tourists a new experience.

Final Project: Situation or SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is defined as “An overall evaluation of the company’s strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T).” Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. P. 55.  The book also explains what these mean; “Strengths include internal capabilities, resources, positive situational factors that may help the company to serve its customers and achieve its objectives. Weaknesses include internal limitations and negative situational factors that may interfere with the company’s performance. Opportunities are favorable factors or trends in the external environment that the company may be able to exploit to its advantage. And threats are unfavorable external factors or trends that may present challenges to performance.” Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. P. 55.

As a food truck my strengths could be the fact that a food truck is portable. Anyone can call me to a location. I can go where the demand is. That is an incredible strength.
A weakness would definitely be the weather. Having outside seating can be great but not 365 days a year. Some days it’s rainy, or just too windy for people to want to eat outside.
Opportunities are once again related to being portable. Construction workers and laborers need on-the-go, filling food. Not all of them have the time, the wife, or the resources to bring food every day. Working outside all day makes the food choices limited. You cannot take out perishable food to sit in the sun or a truck all day. This gives them the opportunity to have fresh food brought right to them.
The main threats for a food truck are other food trucks. Competing against other food trucks at events can be difficult. Drawing more people to your food truck can be hard to do.

Final Project: Objectives

Our objectives are clear. We want affordable great quality food with a family friendly atmosphere. But, we also have to remember to increase profit, stay I budget, and meet sales goals. All of these things every one of our managers, employees, and owners need to know and understand. We also need a back up plan. For example, if we don’t research our sales goals for the day, what do we need to do for the next day to catch up? These are defined as objectives and issues. "The company’s objectives should be defined in specific terms so management can measure progress and plan corrective action if needed to stay on track. This section describes any major issues that might affect the company’s marketing strategy and implementation." Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th ED. Prentice Hall Publishing. Glossary.

For management, they definitely need to understand our objectives. They need to understand the who, what, where, why, and how of every objectives. But, also our employees need to understand all these. Without our employees management, and our company would not reach these goals. Every body needs to work together t reach these objectives. "The company needs to turn its mission into detailed supporting objectives for each level of management. Each manager should have objectives and be responsible for reaching them." Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th ED. Prentice Hall Publishing. Pg 41.

Final Project: Business Mission Statement

In the book Marketing: An Introduction by Armstron and Kotler, a mission statement is defined as; “A mission statement is a statement of the organization’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment.” Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th ED. Prentice Hall Publishing. Glossary. Hot-Dog-O-Rama is committed to serving a family friendly atmosphere with a twist on a classic. We will be providing a fresh, homemade style to every meal. My mission statement makes it clear that we are making a twist on a classic meal: hot dogs. Hot dogs are hot dogs. There is not much that you can do to the taste. Wrapping the bacon around them adds a whole new flavor. Then you can add in things like barbeque, pico de gallo, or cheese stuffed. It revs up the normal hot dog taste without adding too much sauce. The mission statement is also described in the book; “A clear mission statement acts as an “invisible hand” that guides people in the organization.” Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th ED. Pg 39. The mission statement clearly defines what the goal of Hot-Dog-O-Rama is: a fresh, homemade, family friendly style to every meal with a twist. This leaves every question answered. People know that we are family friendly. The statement clearly defines that we are fresh and homemade. It also states that we will be providing a new taste. Keeping it family friendly tells parents that the service will be excellent. Kids will enjoy the food and our employees.

Final Project: Pitch

I would love to have a hot dog truck with bacon wrapped hot dogs as the main specialty. I would also have options for other hot dogs. This could give people the options to have a regular hot dog with toppings of their choice. They could do the classic, ketchup and mustard, or go for a cheese and bacon option, or even chili dogs. They would have the option of fries or tater tots, and a soda or water. Bacon wrapped hot dogs are one of my favorites. You can put basically anything you want on them and they still taste good. For those people willing to spend an extra buck and/or really love bacon, they could have cheese and bacon fries or tater tots, or even chili cheese fries or tater tots. I would love to have this in a park or a downtown type of atmosphere where people are already getting hungry. They are most likely looking for a quick bite, which hot dogs could be. Those people looking to sit down and relax and enjoy their food, could sit in our seating area. I would love to be able to set up a seating area for people to relax. I would love to have a kids menu with mini corn dogs, fries, and a small drink. I would like to name it “Hot Dog-O-Rama” That way people no it’s hot dogs, and more. Bacon wrapped hot dogs are a great food to fulfill your cravings. From bbq, to Mexican style with pico de gallo, to cheese stuffed, it will satisfy that afternoon hunger. Add cheese and bacon fries, or tater tots, or chili cheese fries or tater tots, you can satisfy your deepest greasy cravings. It could be a guilty pleasure  for anyone passing by.

Week 6 EOC: Me x 3

 

My Jeep defines a huge part of my personality. My Jeep is dysfunctional, like me. My Jeep is constantly breaking something, like me. If you say something bad about my Jeep she will get you back later, like me. My Jeep came from a small town, like me. My Jeep has been there for some of my biggest life changes. Although she may break down from time to time, she’s always reliable. I have my struggles and days where I just can’t, but I will always fulfill my promises. My Jeep has come a long way and so have I.

Excuse the selfie. My camera is a huge part of who I am. It’s like a growth attached to me. I won’t go anywhere without it. It’s huge for my personal life, and for my career. I want to be a photographer, but I don’t want to be just a photographer. I want to move people. I want people to experience exactly what I experienced, feel what I feel. My camera will help with that goal. Eventually I do want to upgrade to a better camera but I don’t think I could ever part with this camera. It’s my lifeline. My future. My first.

Now when I say my phone is a huge part of my personality, most people will assume it’s because I’m a 90s kid, and we’re all attached to our phones, right? Wrong, at least for me. I personally hate how attached to our phones my generation is. I am attached because it’s my only source of communication with my boyfriend. He is in the Army and we only see each other twice a year. So communication is important. This is a part of my personality because being this young and committing yourself to such a tough situation has made me the person I am today.

Week 5 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

Facebook and other social media sites can be a person’s friend, or enemy. With social media taking over every one’s lives, employers are jumping on the bandwagon. On social media you can be anybody you want to be. People tend to show their real selves of there. If you’re and artist, you can post your work on here, get likes and shares, and get your name out there. Potential employers could see your work and talk to you. On the other hand, it could be your worst enemy. If you’re nothing but a dick to people on social media, a potential employer could see that. If your views contradict theirs, they can see that. With all your personal information out there, it’s getting harder and harder to fake it till you make it. IF you are clearly not qualified they will find.” Still, Facebook is making a dent. VMware Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif., cloud-computing company, hired its first full-time recruiter dedicated to working on social networks in November and is building a team of recruiters who will focus on social platforms. The company, which is hiring for about 1,200 positions, has cut back on the number of jobs it posts to job boards, said Will Staney, talent acquisition Web strategy manager”  People also tend to trust facebook; ” Candidates have been 50% more likely to apply to positions they found through Facebook than through other means, said Mr. Staney. "[Job boards] just blast it out. This is much more efficient and targeted," he said.” People will trust anyone with anything and everything. Finding jobs on Facebook is just another means of finding potential employees. Facebook is slowly taking over everything. Soon enough you’ll be able to do anything on Facebook. “But if current growth trends continue, Facebook could rival traditional job boards in 2012, said Jobs2Web analytics manager Phil Schrader.”